Where to send the final 1099-R for deceased participant

[KaJay]

Background:
Deceased participant (widow) with no inheritable benefits
Deceased participant's account was terminated upon death
There is not a will in place
Nobody has been appointed as "executor" 
A final 1099-R has been prepared for the deceased participant

Question:
Who can receive the final 1099-R for the deceased participant? If there is no official executor, can the retirement plan simply mail the 1099-R to a family member of the deceased?

TIA for your assistance.

 

[Bird]

Who got the money?

[Tom Poje]

here is a link that describes the process

https://bizfluent.com/how-7791518-file-1099-deceased-person.html

 

my initial response was that if it was a really really bad person you might send it here. And before you say it would have to be a cold day in hell before you would try that, well, 16 degrees is plenty cold for me.

[KaJay]

Bird, there wasn't any money to give. She had a single life benefit that terminated upon death. No remaining benefits to distribute.

[KaJay]

The 1099-R will simply report the money that the participant (now deceased) already received in the year of death - to be used when filing taxes I suppose for the deceased.  When there is not an appointed executor, it is unclear where we can legally mail the final 1099-R (reporting distributions made to the participant). Again, this is not a 1099-R for a beneficiary.

 

[david rigby]

Just my opinion: send it to a relative if you have such name and address.  Remember that a deceased person can file a tax return, so the relative might get a refund.  1099R should reflect deceased's name and SSN, but you can mail it to the relative.  IMHO, this is best if the relative is a child of deceased. 

After mailing, you don't care what they do with it; asking will only drag you into their circumstances.

And keep a file note about what you did.

[KaJay]

@david rigby, that is typically how it has been handled in the past. What happens in regard to filing or not filing taxes, and who is authorized to receive a refund if due, etc., does not concern the RP. The concern is simply "is it lawful to just send the 1099-R to a family member that has not been appointed to be the administrator/executor of the estate". 

Thanks for your responses!

 

 

[Pension Dork]

We would normally send it to the family member who notified us of the participant's death, or would have asked him or her where it should be sent. 

[Mike Preston]

In the absence of receiving a letter informing the plan that the mailing address for the now deceased participant should be updated as indicated the 1099r goes to the same address the plan has in its official records. 

[KaJay]

Mike - when you refer to a letter informing the plan of an updated mailing address for the deceased, in order to change the address on record to the updated one, does this letter have to come from anyone in particular? Meaning, does the sender need to be an appointed executor/POA/etc.-- Or, can it just come from a family member?

[Mike Preston]

I would expect the letter to identify the form of authority being asserted. Then it's up to the plan administrator as to whether or not it's reasonable to accept.

[rocknrolls2]

I think it should be mailed to the participant at the last known address (which is likely the address where the prior year 1099-R was sent) in the name of the participant, unless someone comes forward with letters of administration or letters testamentary indicated that that person is the duly apointed personal representative of the estate. As far as tax returns and refunds, since the right to annuity payments ceased at the death of the recipient, the form should report the payments on the recipient's SSN. It would be included in the recipient's final income tax return for the short period beginning January 1, 2018 and ending on the date of the recipient's death.