Don't know who beneficiaries are on my husband 401K

[Detra]

My husband passed away and I don't know who the beneficary is...it's not me and not his son!

[My 2 cents]

I work solely on defined benefit plans.  Could never happen there (at least, not without a notarized signature by the spouse or active fraud).  If it was an old (pre-marriage) designation, it would automatically become void after the marriage.  I don't think that most 401(k) plans require spousal consent, though.

I am not a lawyer, but if the money is big enough, you might want to talk to one, to see if there are grounds for challenging the designation.  You may also want to let the plan administrator know as soon as possible that you will be looking into that. 

[ESOP Guy]

Even a 401(k) plan you would have had to sign a form in order for you as the spouse to not be the beneficiary. 

I would ask the Plan Administrator if they have a form with your signature on it saying you waived your rights to be the beneficiary.  You might want to let them know you are the legal wife of the deceased.

What I can tell you is that people tend to "fire and forget" beneficiary forms.  By that I mean they fill them out once when they first get hired or when they enter the plan and never think about them again.  So if your husband worked for this company and then you got married it is possible your husband never changed the form to include you.  But if that happened the form is very likely null and void upon the marriage. 

So it is possible if this is a large company or they use an outside service they don't know he was married and they are merely going off the form.  So let them know he was married.  If the people you are dealing with aren't part of the HR department of your late husband's employer maybe call them and ask for help to let the people who run the plan know he was married at the time of death. 

Keep asking questions!!! 

Lastly, I am not trying to be mean but I have to ask this:  Are you sure you didn't sign a waiver of your right to be a beneficiary? 

[Kevin C]

Even in a 401(k) plan, a spousal waiver would have to be witnessed by either a notary or a plan representative before it is valid.  If you haven't done that and you were married for at least a year, you are his beneficiary.  If you were married less than a year, the plan document will determine if you are treated as a surviving spouse or not.

 

My suggestion is to send the plan sponsor a letter telling them you are his surviving spouse and that your letter is a claim for the death benefits from his account.  Include a copy of your marriage license, if you have it available.   If they think you are not entitled to receive the benefits, they are supposed to explain why, including cites to appropriate sections of the plan document.

[My 2 cents]

...and don't take "we already paid it out" for an answer.  Worst comes to worst, they could, if you prevail, be forced to pay you anyway.  Not your problem whether it comes from employer funds or deductions from the other account balances.

If you had signed a waiver, for sure they will show it to you (as a reason for denial) when you claim the account balance.  If the signature was forged, report it to the police and also tell the sponsor that the signature was forged and that you have reported it to the police.

But as things will go more easily if you push before they pay anyone, please do not delay!

[david rigby]

Clarification for the original poster, of advice above: 

• When Kevin C states "they are supposed to explain why", he means you are making a formal claim for benefits.  Every plan is required to have claim procedures, so you should state you are making a claim, ask for a copy of the claim procedures, and expect the response to include a clear explanation. 
• When My 2 Cents states "not your problem", he means that if the plan has mistakenly paid the benefit to someone else, that does not invalidate your claim.  If your claim is the correct one, then the plan will still have to pay you.