[KY] Can an heir who's not a primary heir make a claim for an unclaimed pension fund?
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Under Kentucky intestate law (KRS Chapter 391):
- If a married woman dies without children, her husband inherits all personal property (including things like pension funds), and half the real estate.
- Her parents inherit the other half of the real estate.
- Since her husband survived her, he likely inherited the pension fund.
- Now that he has passed, the funds become part of his estate.
- If he died without a will, his heirs (not your grandmother) would inherit.
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On behalf of my grandmother, I’m messaging you about claiming her deceased daughter’s pension fund.
I’m sorry to hear about your grandmother’s loss. Can you confirm if she’s the designated beneficiary of her daughter’s pension fund?
She’s trying to establish herself as the beneficiary. Her daughter had no will when she died.
Have you already contacted the company in possession of the funds about the process?
Yes, they’re requiring us to fill out an affidavit.
Is there anything else we should know?
We don’t know the balance of the fund.
Hello, welcome to AskaLawyer. My name is DJ. I’ve been a lawyer for over 20 years. Can I ask you a couple of questions?
Okay.
What state was the deceased daughter living in when she died? Did she have a spouse or children?
Kentucky. She had a spouse, but he moved away and had no contact. He’s also deceased now.
Were they still married when she died?
Yes, still married.
Got it. So the woman was married when she died, and the husband moved away and is now also deceased. How long ago did she die?
She died in 2001. She was my grandmother’s daughter. We recently received a notice from the pension fund requesting that my grandmother obtain "unclaimed funds" in her daughter’s retirement account.
Do you know why the fund contacted your grandmother? Was she listed as a beneficiary?
No, just someone they found. We didn’t know about the funds until a few weeks ago. Her daughter didn’t have a will.
Under Kentucky intestate law (KRS Chapter 391):
- If a married woman dies without children, her husband inherits all personal property (including things like pension funds), and half the real estate.
- Her parents inherit the other half of the real estate.
- Since her husband survived her, he likely inherited the pension fund.
- Now that he has passed, the funds become part of his estate.
- If he died without a will, his heirs (not your grandmother) would inherit.
But nobody from his estate is claiming this. He moved to Germany, remarried a German woman, divorced her, and we never heard from him again. He’s now dead, and we know nothing about his estate.
Then the money will likely remain unclaimed. Unfortunately, your grandmother cannot claim funds from her son-in-law’s estate unless she is legally recognized as an heir.
How long until it becomes “unclaimed”? Can she claim it then?
Eventually, it will escheat to the state, meaning the state takes custody of it. But your grandmother still won’t be able to claim it because she’s not the heir.
That seems wrong. It’s her daughter’s money.
I agree, it feels unfair. But legally, the money passed to the husband, and now it’s part of his estate.
What if we open a small estate affidavit to claim the death benefit?
The affidavit must name an heir. But since the husband was the heir, your grandmother wouldn’t be able to claim as the rightful heir.
It’s a pension plan. The fund told us to pursue a small estate affidavit.
That would only work if your grandmother were a legal heir. You could technically file it, but if you list her as heir, that’s likely not accurate. The heir was her son-in-law.
Would it be a lie to say she’s an heir to her daughter?
No, it’s not a lie. She is an heir, but not the primary heir.
So if the primary heir died and we can’t find information about him, can we claim my grandma as the new primary heir?
No. Sorry. The law doesn’t work that way.
Thanks for the help.
You're welcome. Let me know if you have more questions.
