I need help checking on my brother 401k plan

Did he leave a will and name an executor?

You need to go to his work places and find out the info about the 401 and then his social security number would also be helpful with a lawyer to find out about any and all bank accounts and savings accounts but it takes a lawyer to help find this some times and this is the way to do it legal.

First of all, if your brother had a wife, it would be the wife's legal right, and not yours, to take care of any 401k plan or bank accounts that were in your deceased brother's name.

If your brother was unmarried, then you can ask his former place of employment if he had a 401k plan, but that doesn't mean the company is obligated to give you any personal information.

Banks are not obligated to find people who a deceased person named as beneficiaries. The potential beneficiary needs to contact various banks to find out if they are beneficiaries. If your brother never told you that you are a beneficiary, then chances are good that you are not one.

You need to find out if your brother left a will, and the best way to do this would be to either contact someone close to him who might have access to his will, or hire an attorney. If your brother had a will, then he probably designated someone to be the executor of his estate, and this person would be the one to "execute" your brother's wishes.

Conservative Wordsmith ™ Susan Baldwin wrote this answer especially for you, and appreciates the opportunity to answer your special WebAnswers question.

If you have the authority, you could probably get hold of his tax return information from the IRS. That would show if he had any interest income (and who paid it). They will require a fair amount of documentation to show that you are the legal representative.