death of a co trustee

[deecy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mississippi

My husband recently died. We have a living trust of which we are co trustees He has a large Fidelity rollover account with the beneficiary being our trust. I spoke to a Fidelity agent who said I should roll over the account into my name now with the beneficiary as the trust again. Can I legally do this?

 

[anteater]

Condolences on your loss.

He has a large Fidelity rollover account with the beneficiary being our trust. I spoke to a Fidelity agent who said I should roll over the account into my name now with the beneficiary as the trust again.

Since you say that it is a rollover, I take it that it is an IRA account(?).

I don't think that I would be taking advice from a customer service agent. I would urge you to consult with a tax professional familiar with qualified accounts and living trusts.

I took a look at your prior posts and noticed that you said that the attorney that created the trust had been disbarred. You don't mention the reasons but... There are reasons why you might want to have a trust as the beneficiary of a qualified account in some situations. But when there is a spouse? Was this a suggestion from that attorney?

 

[deecy]

Thankyou for your reply.

I do have an appt. with an elder law attorney but I was just wondering if there is anything I can do myself.

 

[curb1]

This is more of an accounting situation than a legal situation. I am not sure that an elder law attorney is your best choice for advice about this.

Who is the beneficiary of your trust? It might be easier to get this into your name. It often can be a much simpler situation by keeping it out of the trust.