Courtney S
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey
My father in law was a non-active attorney when he passed away 6 months ago. In an effort to settle his Estate, we (the children) came upon an Insurance policy that was owned by a Money Purchase Plan (MPP) in his business name (John Doe, Esq). The MPP is also the sole beneficiary of the policy, and my FIL is listed as sole Trustee. I have made several attempts with the Insurance company to collect information about the Plan since none of the children have knowledge of it. (Also, my FIL was divorced from my MIL). The only document the Insurance company was able to provide was a "Declaration of Employment" that was submitted when the policy was created in 1993. The Declaration of Employment states that the MPP was started in 1992 and it gave an old PO Box as the address.
The Insurance company advised that we submit documentation to change the Trustee from my FIL to the Executor (my husband's grandmother). However, how would we be able to legally change the Trustee if we do not have an original Plan Document? And also, even if we were able to change the Trustee, the insurance benefit would be paid out to "John Doe, Esq. Money Purchase Plan", in which case we would not be able to deposit the check to a bank without a Plan Document. All the research I have done suggests that I contact the law firm who wrote the Trust agreement, but I would think that it's most likely he prepared the document himself.
Other information:
The Insurance Company statements list a Trust Number for the Plan.
We went through all of my FIL's files and could not find anything else on the Plan.
He did not own a home, he was living with a friend, so this is the only Estate item.
My father in law was a non-active attorney when he passed away 6 months ago. In an effort to settle his Estate, we (the children) came upon an Insurance policy that was owned by a Money Purchase Plan (MPP) in his business name (John Doe, Esq). The MPP is also the sole beneficiary of the policy, and my FIL is listed as sole Trustee. I have made several attempts with the Insurance company to collect information about the Plan since none of the children have knowledge of it. (Also, my FIL was divorced from my MIL). The only document the Insurance company was able to provide was a "Declaration of Employment" that was submitted when the policy was created in 1993. The Declaration of Employment states that the MPP was started in 1992 and it gave an old PO Box as the address.
The Insurance company advised that we submit documentation to change the Trustee from my FIL to the Executor (my husband's grandmother). However, how would we be able to legally change the Trustee if we do not have an original Plan Document? And also, even if we were able to change the Trustee, the insurance benefit would be paid out to "John Doe, Esq. Money Purchase Plan", in which case we would not be able to deposit the check to a bank without a Plan Document. All the research I have done suggests that I contact the law firm who wrote the Trust agreement, but I would think that it's most likely he prepared the document himself.
Other information:
The Insurance Company statements list a Trust Number for the Plan.
We went through all of my FIL's files and could not find anything else on the Plan.
He did not own a home, he was living with a friend, so this is the only Estate item.
