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arcticpineapplecorp. wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 6:41 pm

PatrickA5 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:02 pm Our lawyer charged $3,800 for a probate we just opened. It is also a simple $60,000 estate (all Ibonds).

Don't ibonds allow you to name a beneficiary? If so, shouldn't that have passed directly to beneficiaries without the need for probate at all? Was there no beneficiary named on the ibonds?

Yes, you can put a co-owner or a POD beneficiary. Unfortunately, my FIL had my MIL as beneficiary who pre-deceased him. I tried to get him to change the beneficiary, but one of his "good buddies" told him that wasn't needed.

I got a headache just looking at your list. With such a small tax loss, I'd dump everything and either do Taylor's 3 Fund Portfolio, or perhaps some kind of Target Date fund. In my younger years, I'd would have tried to complicate things and buy multiple funds. I'm sure I lost money doing that. Now that I'm older, simplicity rules.

I was assigned a Fidelity advisor with my private client status. His assistant reaches out once a year to ask (no pressure) if I want to meet with him for an hour. I've done it for the past two years and find it very helpful. He shared his screen to pull up new features on the website, did a deep-dive into the wonderful free research and portfolio analysis tools they offer everyone, helped solve a couple issues I was having with account transfers, and a few other helpful items. He asked if I'd be interested in advisory services. I said no. He thanked me for being a Fidelity customer. Time well spent. I now consider my Fidelity Advisor's "assistant" as my true advisor. Every email, phone call, etc that I've sent to my actual advis...

Our lawyer charged $3,800 for a probate we just opened. It is also a simple $60,000 estate (all Ibonds). Basically, nothing else. The fee supposedly includes everything, including all filing, notices, etc. It will probably be the easiest money she'll make all year. But, after messing with the rest of the (non-probate) estate, I just didn't want to deal with trying to do it myself, even though I'm sure I could have done it. So, I'm not complaining. Now, if she comes back with a need for more money, well, then we'll have a discussion.

We've been thinking about moving our checking from Chase to Schwab. We currently have Chase checking (no interest) attached to JPMorgan (Chase) self directed account in which we invest in a MMF (currently at 4.5%).

We might replicate the same thing at Schwab and close Chase.

Are there any advantages/disadvantage between my Chase setup versus the same set up at Schwab? The only thing I can think of would probably involve getting/depositing cash - which would be rare for us.

BrainDrain wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:30 am Many of the previous posters on this thread have only 1-3 lifetime posts to their name. Seems a bit dodgy.

I think you're on to something here.

eurojdm wrote: ↑Wed Mar 01, 2023 9:06 pm

PatrickA5 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 16, 2023 9:00 am DW recently inherited assets from FIL with the largest being in Vanguard. We're wanting to move this money (all cash) to Fidelity. I've linked the Vanguard and Fidelity accounts via bank transfer using routing/account numbers. I did a small test transfer that went through fine. Instead of doing a full brokerage transfer, I'm thinking about just doing another ACH transfer for the entire amount ($400k).

Any reasons not to do it this way? I can't see anywhere on VG's website that they have a transfer limit, but does anyhone here know of any kind of limit?

Did you ever find out what the limit is?

Not sure. I had no problems pushing $409K through an online ACH.

I ended up just doing a push from VG to Fidelity of the full amount. I did a small test transfer a few days earlier just to make sure it gets to the right place. The full $409K showed up in Fidelity 2 days later.

I'm not sure if the VG account will be closed or not (by VG). I still have a joint brokerage account showing up that hasn't had any money in it for 8 years. It was never closed.

celia wrote: ↑Thu Mar 02, 2023 1:26 am Before you close out an account, be sure to capture the history you will need for tax reporting. Dates, # of shares sold, $ amounts, tickers, cost basis...

Thanks, did that.

My father-in-law gifted my SIL (wife's sister) $400 per month for over a decade. He was (for the most part) unwilling to give my wife the same money over the years because she "didn't need it". It caused some a little bit of feeling "left out" by DW, but FIL was good about keeping track of the gifts and in the end DW got "reimbursed" upon his death. My brother got a few gifts from my dad when he'd run out of money. Again, since "I didn't need the money", it was up to me to get reimbursed before splitting the inheritance. Both could have been avoided by simply gifting the same amounts to each child. Both parents could have easily made equal gifts. For that reason, anytime we give gifts to the kids it's...

DW recently inherited assets from FIL with the largest being in Vanguard. We're wanting to move this money (all cash) to Fidelity. I've linked the Vanguard and Fidelity accounts via bank transfer using routing/account numbers. I did a small test transfer that went through fine. Instead of doing a full brokerage transfer, I'm thinking about just doing another ACH transfer for the entire amount ($400k).

Any reasons not to do it this way? I can't see anywhere on VG's website that they have a transfer limit, but does anyhone here know of any kind of limit?

Somehow (probably through payroll withholdings) the employer Roth match has to have taxes paid upfront. Otherwise, the "match" part would never be taxed. I see this as a big headache that companies will be reluctant to tackle. As others have mentioned, the big companies might try to iron out how to accomplish this, but I don't see smaller companies even trying.

I'm going through an estate where there are only 5 accounts and it's been a major pain. If you're anywhere close to retirement age, I'd consolidate and simplify. Others have said 15 - 20 accounts are fine, and maybe that is fine for them, but if you have heirs you care about - make it easy on them. Once we've got the inherited assets in our own accounts all of them are moving over to our Fidelity hub.

You might check with your local county deed recorder (or wherever that's done) for help on getting a new deed. You definitely want to get a clean title now, with SIL and DW. I am very unclear on how someone (2nd wife) can get a "life estate" to live in a house that isn't in a trust, and which she clearly isn't on the title. Is that even possible? Sis and Mom "own" the house but don't have the right to sell it? Who is going to maintain it? I would definitely be unhappy with any lawyer that left that mess.... Our probate lawyer is going to clean up the deed by taking FIL off. Actually, the Life Estate of the 2nd wife shows up on the deed. There was no lawyer involved. FIL wanted to make sure his wife could stay there as l...

If they were truly "joint owners", one could surmise they each had 160/3 for their basis, and the FIL 1/3 would get a step up when they inherited... so 160/3 plus 1/3 current value? I have heard of other situations wherein an heir made the case (possibly stretchy) that they were only added for the purposes of inheritance, did not contribute or behave as an owner, so get a full step up. I did find a couple Google links that state if the property is included in the FIL estate, it can be stepped up. Check with your local lawyer, seriously. I will note this is why adding heirs to Joint is generally disadvantageous. I know nothing. https://jmtaxlaw.com/basis-in-property-received-via-right-of-survivorship/ Thanks. I'll check with the l...

If they were truly "joint owners", one could surmise they each had 160/3 for their basis, and the FIL 1/3 would get a step up when they inherited... so 160/3 plus 1/3 current value? I have heard of other situations wherein an heir made the case (possibly stretchy) that they were only added for the purposes of inheritance, did not contribute or behave as an owner, so get a full step up. I did find a couple Google links that state if the property is included in the FIL estate, it can be stepped up. Check with your local lawyer, seriously. I will note this is why adding heirs to Joint is generally disadvantageous. I know nothing. https://jmtaxlaw.com/basis-in-property-received-via-right-of-survivorship/ Thanks. I'll check with the l...

My understanding is the same as the post above. He may have intended for it to be to avoid probate, but the fact is that they are joint owners. Only FIL's position gets stepped up and not the others. A better way is via trust or transfer on death property title if that is available in that state (they are being more common). Also, it isn't the original $160K purchase price that is relevant, but today's market price. I tried to get him to do a TOD deed (like I've done), but he wasn't interested. Fortunately, we're not talking big numbers here. Bought for $160K and current value around $230K. DW and SIL won't be selling anytime soon. FIL gave his 2nd wife a "life estate" in the house which give her the right to live in as long as s...

If they were truly "joint owners", one could surmise they each had 160/3 for their basis, and the FIL 1/3 would get a step up when they inherited... so 160/3 plus 1/3 current value? I have heard of other situations wherein an heir made the case (possibly stretchy) that they were only added for the purposes of inheritance, did not contribute or behave as an owner, so get a full step up. I did find a couple Google links that state if the property is included in the FIL estate, it can be stepped up. Check with your local lawyer, seriously. I will note this is why adding heirs to Joint is generally disadvantageous. I know nothing. https://jmtaxlaw.com/basis-in-property-received-via-right-of-survivorship/ FIL paid the entire $160K. He...

retired@50 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 1:44 pm

PatrickA5 wrote: ↑Sun Feb 12, 2023 1:38 pm My FIL recently passed away. He bought his home for $160K a few years ago and as a way of avoiding probate he included my wife and her sister as joint owners. What is the basis for each DW and SIL after his death. I assume each will have an $80K basis, but just wanted to check here first. Thanks!

The state that the home is in could be relevant. Community property states behave differently than non CP (common law) states.

Regards,

Common law state.

My FIL recently passed away. He bought his home for $160K a few years ago and as a way of avoiding probate he included my wife and her sister as joint owners. What is the basis for each DW and SIL after his death. I assume each will have an $80K basis, but just wanted to check here first. Thanks!

A glutton for punishment, we decided to help FIL's 2nd wife with her inheritance today. She's the 100% beneficiary of his Traditional IRA. Two hours on the phone and 3 attempts to process it online (with the help of the inheritance department) yielded exactly nothing. We'd get to the end and it would bomb out. The representative said they "must be having system maintenance". Ha! Right! System maintenance on a Thursday afternoon. Sure. So, we're doing the snail mail process. Rep said we should get the forms to fill out in 8 to 10 business days. On a positive note, DW's 50% inheritance of the brokerage account showed up today. Finally. Next, we get to help SIL try to get her 50%. I need to start charging for my time and frustration.

Update #3 Well, just when I thought things couldn't get worse, VG inheritance department decides that the beneficiary on the IRA should be applied to all accounts. DW is a beneficiary on an individual brokerage account, but NOT on the IRA. So VG applies the beneficiary of the IRA (FIL's second wife) to the individual account also. They wanted DW to send in a death certificate of 2nd wife (not deceased) in order for DW to collect. DW is PRIMARY on the individual account and 2nd wife is not on it at all. UGH! Read the FAQ on vanguard.com Can I have different beneficiaries for each of my IRAs? No. If you have multiple Vanguard IRAs of the same type—for example, 2 traditional IRAs—the beneficiaries you designate on one of them will carry over ...

Update: Funds showed up in DW's account today! No tax basis shows up yet, but maybe that take a few days?

Now we get to help SIL get her 50% of the brokerage account and FIL's 2nd wife get her 100% of the IRA.

I really like the Chase website. My 3 credit cards, checking account and JP Morgan investment account all show up on the same page.

I also take advantage of a few "Chase Offers" on each of my cards. For example, my Amazon card had an offer for 20% cash back at Kohls. So, I went to Kohls, bought a $100 gift card to somewhere I know I'll use it and a week or so later see a $20 credit on my Amazon credit card bill.

Must have posted this evening. The $500 wasn't there around noon. Now, I'll probably just move that money out also. Might keep a couple of dollars in the account to keep it open.

"My wife is the Executor, not that that has anything to do with this particular scenerio involving beneficiaries." Actually it does. As Executor, she can speak to Vanguard, or at least Vanguard will speak with her. Not necessarily about who gets what, but about the death in general terms. She can provide a certified copy of the death cert. (They should only need one.). She can ask questions: does every account have a named beneficiary? If not, does that account need to go thru probate or be processed in accordance to the will? Do you have updated contact info for all named beneficiaries. What else do you need to start transferring the assets per the PoD/ToD? Thanks, Just curious. Can an Executor that never gets appointed official...

Thanks. I'm just hoping VG gets the basis right. Worked out fine at T. Rowe Price. You are welcomed. Here is my mother story on transferring from TRowe Price to Vanguard (IRA). I know you did not mention any tax deferred accounts but be aware SECURE Act 2.0 changed the stretch provision. This may impact your accounts. see link: https://www.kitces.com/blog/secure-act-2-omnibus-2022-hr-2954-rmd-75-529-roth-rollover-increase-qcd-student-loan-match/ My mother was 89 passed in March 2020 and she left me her traditional IRA as I was her sole only beneficiary, a small account at 24k. I contacted TRowe Price to "push" the account to Vanguard. Vanguard informed me through a transfer specialist that I need to retitle her IRA under my name ...

"My wife is the Executor, not that that has anything to do with this particular scenerio involving beneficiaries." Actually it does. As Executor, she can speak to Vanguard, or at least Vanguard will speak with her. Not necessarily about who gets what, but about the death in general terms. She can provide a certified copy of the death cert. (They should only need one.). She can ask questions: does every account have a named beneficiary? If not, does that account need to go thru probate or be processed in accordance to the will? Do you have updated contact info for all named beneficiaries. What else do you need to start transferring the assets per the PoD/ToD? Thanks, Just curious. Can an Executor that never gets appointed official...

op If the funds are in taxable account, it is "stepped up basis at death". see link: https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/step-up-in-basis/ This link includes a power point discussion on real estate as well as other equities and handling of other inherited accounts https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/21_-_inherited_assets_-_stepped-up_basis.pdf Inherited stock discussion and calculating FMV https://www.chase.com/personal/investments/learning-and-insights/article/what-is-the-cost-basis-of-inherited-stock Unfortunately, there will be no step-up basis on his house. He put DW and Sister as joint owners a few years ago against my recommendation not to. They will take a small tax hit when the house is sold - which won't be until his wife m...

retire2022 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 08, 2023 1:13 pm op

If the funds are in taxable account, it is "stepped up basis at death".

see link: https://taxfoundation.org/tax-basics/step-up-in-basis/

This link includes a power point discussion on real estate as well as other equities and handling of other inherited accounts

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/21_-_in ... _basis.pdf

Inherited stock discussion and calculating FMV

https://www.chase.com/personal/investme ... ited-stock

Thanks. I'm just hoping VG gets the basis right. Worked out fine at T. Rowe Price.

To FIL's credit, he did have a printout of the beneficiaries for both the IRA and Brokerage accounts. DW thought that she (and sister) were 50/50 on both accounts, but he changed the IRA within the last year.

We didn't have a problem with his wife getting the IRA. She's been a wonderful spouse the last couple of years. They got married in their mid-80's. He also gave her a Life Estate in his house (DW and Sister are joint owners). So, that's another issue that we'll be dealing with going forward.

"What's really perplexing is no beneficiary of the IRA has even contacted Vanguard yet." Who is the Executor/Personal Representative? Eventually, a brokerage would reach out to the PR for contact info of a named beneficiary if the brokerage cannot reach them. Regardless, unless your wife is a named beneficiary on the IRA, why does it matter? "I guess it might be a best practice to try and use the same beneficiaries (and percentages) on all accounts at the same brokerage - if possible." Nearly impossible at Vanguard with joint-owned brokerage accounts, unless the spouse is the sole and only beneficiary. My wife is the Executor, not that that has anything to do with this particular scenerio involving beneficiaries. There ...

Update #3 Well, just when I thought things couldn't get worse, VG inheritance department decides that the beneficiary on the IRA should be applied to all accounts. DW is a beneficiary on an individual brokerage account, but NOT on the IRA. So VG applies the beneficiary of the IRA (FIL's second wife) to the individual account also. They wanted DW to send in a death certificate of 2nd wife (not deceased) in order for DW to collect. DW is PRIMARY on the individual account and 2nd wife is not on it at all. UGH! What's even worse is 2nd wife hasn't even started the process to inherit the IRA. We were going to help her do this since she's can't really handle this stuff. VG representative suggested we make sure DW's inheritance comes through firs...

Update #3 Well, just when I thought things couldn't get worse, VG inheritance department decides that the beneficiary on the IRA should be applied to all accounts. DW is a beneficiary on an individual brokerage account, but NOT on the IRA. So VG applies the beneficiary of the IRA (FIL's second wife) to the individual account also. They wanted DW to send in a death certificate of 2nd wife (not deceased) in order for DW to collect. DW is PRIMARY on the individual account and 2nd wife is not on it at all. UGH! What's even worse is 2nd wife hasn't even started the process to inherit the IRA. We were going to help her do this since she's can't really handle this stuff. VG representative suggested we make sure DW's inheritance comes through first...

Yes, we had to send in a copy of DWs drivers license for a Walmart credit card. I was able to actually get the card without providing it, but the 2nd time I tried to log in online, it wouldn't let me go any further without the DL. This is the only CC (out of many) that has ever demanded it.

Are there limits on the amount that can be transferred from VG to Fidelity via ACH? DW is in the process of inheriting VG assets. Our plan is to move everything to Fidelity (via account transfer), but maybe doing ACH transfers will accomplish the same thing?

Chase's brokerage sweep fund is still paying a negligible amount. Is there a decent NTF money market mutual fund option at Chase? VMFXX seems available for a $3000 minimum investment. Can any folks with JPMS brokerage accounts recommend a money market mutual fund that I can use for short term holdings? I'm signing up for the Chase Private Client bonus offer next month and looking to invest $100-200k of cash for a few months. I'm leaning towards just a money market mutual fund, but for some reason, JPMS doesn't seem to like any of the funds I've tried. These are all no load, fee-free, but all rejected: -Vanguard Federal Money Market Fund (ticker: VMFXX) -Vanguard Treasury Money Market Fund (VUSXX) -Fidelity Money Market Fund (SPRXX) -T. Row...

jebmke wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:48 pm

PatrickA5 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:29 pm I'm currently having major problems trying to help DW get an inheritance squared away at VG.

That's unfortunate. We had good experience VG with two inheritances for my wife. I also assisted the widow of a friend with consolidating and re-titling accounts at VG and it was pretty painless. They didn't even demand a death certificate which surprised me.

Everything is hit or miss these days. I'm sure Fidelity and Schwab don't get everything right either. We'll see if our 3rd attempt is a success. Checking every day for the transfer. Rep #3 said it could take 7-10 business days.

At Fidelity, how much is the Bonus for transferring in say $1 million ? I am looking at Schwab, Etrade & Fidelity. Thanks for the info Currently $1000 for over $1M and $2000 for over $2M per my conversation with my FA last week. That's what I was told. DW and I moved IRA's totaling $1.2M from Vanguard to Fidelity, expecting $1K bonus. When it didn't show, I asked the FA and he said it's $1M per individual, not total. I asked my Rep's assistant the other day about transfer bonuses. I told him we could possibly bring over $1million. His response was he didn't know of anything, but would more than happy to help with the move of assets. I would have asked my Rep, but he basically makes his assistant handle all phone calls and emails. I'm s...

Moving funds from another brokerage to VG should be fairly simple.

Having said that, you might want to check all of the threads about how VG has gone downhill the last few years first - especially customer service. I'm currently having major problems trying to help DW get an inheritance squared away at VG. I would check out Fidelity or Schwab also.

Update #2

T. Rowe Price showed up correctly 3 days after first contact.

Vanguard - Ugh. We called to see what the status was after working with Representative #1 a few days earlier. Representative #2 said there was nothing in the system. She basically said the first guy didn't know what he was doing and she would do it "her" way. I explained that our first attempt at DIY on the website didn't work, so that's why we had Rep #1 help us. Her reply was the website only works about half the time and she doesn't use it anymore. She said to check DW's account in 10 business days and see if the money shows up. I guess we'll see what happens.

We have almost everything at Fidelity (his/hers TIRA and Roths, brokerage, CMA, credit card). We moved everything from VG a few years ago and have been pleased, so far. Also, an office is available if we need to meet in person. DW is in the process of getting an inheritance from T Rowe Price and Vanguard. T. Rowe worked flawlessly in just a few days. Vanguard's process reminds me of why I left VG. Website didn't work. First adventure with an inheritance representative was worthless as when we called asking the status, the 2nd rep said there was no signs that the first rep did anything - at least not anything that stayed in the system. We'll be transferring the funds as soon as they're in our account to Fidelity. No telling when that will be...

We're thinking of doing something similar, but the other way around - IRAs stay at Fidelity and maybe move all taxable to Schwab. DW is expecting a close to 7 figure inheritance in the next few weeks and I'm contemplating opening a Schwab account and test drive them for a while. Fidelity has been fine. No complaints. Much better than when I had everything at Vanguard.

I can see with that amount of money how they might want to make you happy - especially if you have a good relationship with someone higher up the food chain at the local office.

Meanwhile, for us lower-end folks....nothing. I sent my Financial Consultant an email this morning saying that my SIL and DW will both possibly have around a million each to bring over and asked if there were any incentives. I get a call from his "assistant" telling me that he doesn't know of any incentives, but he'd like to help with the transfer. I told him I'd think about it. We aren't Private Client, but it says Premium Services on the website.

I've recently learned of a new policy at Fidelity where they do not assign reps to Private Client Group members with self-directed accounts. One has to sign up for wealth management in order to be assigned a rep. Is there a brokerage house that provides excellent customer service for people who do not want wealth management? Or should i start looking at options where I pay a fee? Interesting. My Fidelity reps picture still shows up on my account page. I wonder if this new policy is nation-wide? I haven't talked to "my guy" in a few years, but I did send an email this morning asking if my SIL could be added to his group of clients. She's inheriting money and I thought it would be good if she has someone to talk to if I'm not avail...

Update: Well, the process is off to a rocky start. We tried several times to use the website, but always got a message to call customer service before anything was finalized. Spent a couple of hours talking to a nice guy in the Accounts Transfers department and he couldn't get the online system to work either. So, we emailed the death certificate and are awaiting further instructions.

T. Rowe Price seems to be moving along better.

Interesting. We don't have that kind of money, but might bring that up when we start moving DW's VG account over. I'll see if my financial consultant has anything to offer.

Both my mom and MIL died at 77 with no LTC needed. My dad lived to 97 and required 2 days in a nursing home. FIL needed 3 days. I'm hoping to go out like them. Grandmother, on the other hand, lasted many years in a nursing home after a stroke, having to have both legs amputated.

I wouldn't qualify for a LTC policy even if I wanted one, so that's not something I have to be concerned with. About the only thing DW and I can do is save our money and hope for the best. I don't know that there is any way to really plan for LTC (at least for us). It's possible at some point we might look into a CCRC.

stocknoob4111 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 24, 2023 7:13 pm I am holding about $75k in SPRXX, I am assuming non zero risk but almost close to zero simply because I am assuming risk consistent with other MM funds.

Anyone else holding their short term cash in SPRXX?

Yes. I have SPRXX at Chase and Fidelity. Using FZDXX for one of my Fidelity accounts. I have no worries. Like you said, it's "close to zero" risk.

Sorry for the loss of your FIL. I had same issue with I bonds inherited from my mother. Since she passed away early in the calendar year, it made sense to elect to take a substantial portion of the I bond interest as income on her last personal return, since her marginal tax rate with only a partial year of pension, investment and SS income was much lower than mine even with a substantial amount of I bond income thrown in. I did get an extension to file her personal return so I could get the 1099 from Treasury before I actually filed her personal return. I'm not sure when these bonds will get redeemed. It's the only asset that will have to go through probate. FIL only had his name on the bonds. These are paper bonds, so not sure how this a...