Q: What can I do if the estate lawyer isn't retrieving 401k funds?
I am concerned about the actions of the lawyer appointed by an Ohio court to administer my deceased son’s estate, as my son left no will. He passed away in November 2022, and since early 2023, I informed the lawyer about my son's 401k accounts at Fidelity. Despite this, he has continually failed to retrieve the funds, claiming to have contacted Fidelity numerous times and sent forms that Fidelity says they never received. I even sent a death certificate myself, as he did not do so. There are no named beneficiaries on one of these accounts, and I am the sole beneficiary of the estate. Additionally, the lawyer refuses to investigate the possibility of other accounts at Wells Fargo. The process has been ongoing since January 2023, and he falsely claimed to the judge in the fall of 2024 that he had just discovered the 401k accounts. I want to understand what steps I can take if he continues to fail in his duties, including filing a complaint against him.
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A: You file a motion to remove the personal representative for cause listing your grounds. But be prepared to have someone else ready to take his place, such as yourself represented by a good NC attorney. Be aware alot of those accounts are not Estate assets, but the fiduciary should have standing to pursue marshalling of them for the benefit of the Estate and/or beneficiaries. And those administrators/trustees are very difficult to sue since they will claim you are in the wrong Court. NC probably does not have jurisdiction over any of those investment accounts. It usually requires federal diversity jurisdiction, which involves expensive attorneys in other States.
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