How do you find out if a deceased family member owned stocks?

Answer 1

Assuming there is no direct indication of the existence of stock certificates available, such as dividend check stubs, brokerage account statements, proxy statements, prospectuses, and other types of corporate correspondence in the house, there are several ways to find out. If there is a safe deposit box, securities may be kept in there. If you have access to the person's personal papers and records, there are a number of places to check. Probably the best first source is the person's Federal and State Income Tax forms that were filed for at least the last two years. IRS Form 1040 requires listing of all sources of income. This will include dividends from stock, interest from brokerage accounts and capital gains and losses. Names of companies whose securities produced such income will be reported in Schedule B. In addition, it is most likely that the reporting documents, the 1099s for interest and dividends, etc. from the company itself will be in with those tax records. Speak to the person's attorney and accountant and inquire about possible holdings they may know of. If you have access to a predeceased spouse's returns also, you should check those as well. If you have access to the person's checkbook registers, go through them to see if there are deposits with a description of theirs sources. Most people describe the deposit as a dividend from one company or another. Go through all left over mail, to see if there is any type of written communication between a company and the deceased. Even old empty envelopes will at least give a clue that there might be something. Even after death, companies will continue to send mail to the deceased if, for example, a dividend is issued. So, even after death, evidence of stock holdings may come in. Talk to other family members who may have some idea of the person's investments.