Having to Jump Thru Hoops to Close Edward Jones Account

[popntx]

Yes, this is just another rant about dealing with Edward Jones, but here goes anyway. Here's the situation:

My DW's mother passed away recently and DW is in the process of closing a couple of her bank accounts plus an account at EJ. In addition to my deceased Mother-In-Law, my DW is a joint account holder on the account along with her brother. DW and her brother were added to the account several years ago, when her mother was no longer able to handle her own finances.

Anyway, I thought the process of closing the account would be relatively simple: as joint owners either DW or her brother could close the account and receive the proceeds via cashiers check and then they split the proceeds as specified in their mother's will (50/50). Neither DW nor her brother wants to maintain an account with EJ.

But EJ is giving a different requirement. For both DW and her brother to receive their proceeds, they must each first open a separate individual account at EJ and move their 50% share into their separate accounts. Only then could they close the account and get away from EJ. To add insult to injury, I'm anticipating EJ to then charge a fee for each to close the new individual accounts that they were just required to open.

We're not talking about a large sum of money in the account, nor do I think the fee from EJ to ultimately close the accounts will be significant, but it's the principle of the matter that is so disheartening, especially since it involves the recent death of a loved one.

Does anyone have any similar experiences, either with EJ or other financial institutions? I believe the other 2 banks involved will allow either DW or her brother to simply close the account and receive a cashiers check. It seems to me that EJ is making things much more difficult to leave them than it should be, but could there be some valid reasons?

 

[MRG]

That's the Jones way, making your money theirs. You could contact any regulatory agency but I don't think Jones plays outside the law. Sorry for the bs.

 

[Stonewalker]

That's the Jones way, making your money theirs. You could contact any regulatory agency but I don't think Jones plays outside the law. Sorry for the bs.

+1
I had a similar poor experience with Jones.

 

[ocean view]

Could your wife liquidate the investments and transfer the proceeds out of EJ? Then once the account is empty, ask to close the account. Two separate transactions.

I would think that as an account owner, she would be allowed to make a withdrawal. Or does the death of MIL tangle the entire account?

 

[ncbill]

I just used the credentials my terminally-ill relative had so thoughtfully written down for me to login to & liquidate their (not at EJ) brokerage account.

As their durable POA for finances I was legally authorized to do so, but I never bothered sending a copy of the POA to the brokerage.

Then I used the handy ACH feature to send all proceeds to their bank account, which I had already retitled into the name of their revocable living trust.

Which the bank insisted on moving to a new account when they died and the trust became irrevocable.

So even if their former brokerage charges a closing fee, good luck collecting it.

 

[karen1972]

I've had other institutions require a separate account to be created.

Chase was frankly the worst. My mother was the named beneficiary for my dads account, they said she wasn't, she provided the signed paperwork which they had "lost", they then kept "coming up" with things for her to do.. needless to say it took her over 3 months to get access to the money so she could close the account and transfer the money out. They were constantly not available, constantly had to go to corporate for some item or another, etc etc etc. They even told my mother she couldn't withdraw the money from the joint account, so she ended up just writing herself a check for the full amount, imagine that, it cleared and account was closed.

That branch is now closing as I assumed after multiple escalations, they got the hint that maybe there was something awry there.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I had the same thing happen when we closed my mothers account. We had to all open accounts in order for the money to be distributed, then the accounts were closed once we received our checks from her estate. I think there was a $95 fee to close each account, but EJ waived the fee.

 

[teejayevans]

Just to be clear, are these IRA accounts or just regular brokerage accounts?
I would ask about fees involved in opening and closing accounts (get it in writing).
I would also try going to their local office.

 

[Scrapr]

I've had other institutions require a separate account to be created.

Chase was frankly the worst. My mother was the named beneficiary for my dads account, they said she wasn't, she provided the signed paperwork which they had "lost", they then kept "coming up" with things for her to do.. needless to say it took her over 3 months to get access to the money so she could close the account and transfer the money out. They were constantly not available, constantly had to go to corporate for some item or another, etc etc etc. They even told my mother she couldn't withdraw the money from the joint account, so she ended up just writing herself a check for the full amount, imagine that, it cleared and account was closed.

That branch is now closing as I assumed after multiple escalations, they got the hint that maybe there was something awry there.

BofA was very difficult in closing Mom & Dad's trust. Trying to get the right signatures while being in different states was impossible. I tried signing in Oregon. The guy looked at me like I was crazy. Branch manager listened to what was going on & walked away

I ended up going to Arizona to finish out the last of it. We then took a check to a local bank and set up an account in the Trust name. With all beneficiaries there we could all sign. Trust distributed most of the funds about a month later.

 

[Big_Hitter]

We had to do that with DWs dad's brokerage account

 

[WestUniversity]

For both DW and her brother to receive their proceeds, they must each first open a separate individual account at EJ and move their 50% share into their separate accounts. Only then could they close the account and get away from EJ. To add insult to injury, I'm anticipating EJ to then charge a fee for each to close the new individual accounts that they were just required to open.

A friend of mine had to go through the same routine with EJ regarding an inheritance from his mom, split between himself and other heirs.

Once the dollars were split into the separate accounts, Fido was able to pull his dollars out to his personal Fido account...

 

[Sunset]

Could your wife liquidate the investments and transfer the proceeds out of EJ? Then once the account is empty, ask to close the account. Two separate transactions.

I would think that as an account owner, she would be allowed to make a withdrawal. Or does the death of MIL tangle the entire account?

+1
Or remove funds leaving $5 in the account.
Then phone and tell them to close it, or just leave it languishing if it is a no fee account.

 

[euro]

+1
Or remove funds leaving $5 in the account.
Then phone and tell them to close it, or just leave it languishing if it is a no fee account.

This - except, I would draw it down to zero. I just did this with one of my checking accounts and once the balance was zero, a simple e- mail was enough to close it!

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I think this shows the value of banking "local." My DD maintained the same bank for almost 40 years (thorough a couple of mergers too but always a local bank). He knew everyone there and the branch manager was from the same home town. When it came to settling Dad's estate, it took more time to "catch up" with the staff and mourn Dad's loss than actually get the accounted taken care of. Of course, this doesn't help w/ an EJ issue, but Dad's brokerage account was with TDA and he also knew the advisors at the local branch, and that also made things very easy for me.

 

[RunningBum]

I haven't been through the process, but when I looked at how VG does it so I could leave instructions for my executor on the process, VG requires each beneficiary to open an account to get their share. Assuming I read that correctly wherever I found it.

 

[sheehs1]

You don't mention any beneficiary designation on the account or who is Executor or Trustee.

At my Mom's death, one of her IRA's at AIG was left to the 4 of us equally per the beneficiary designation. As Trustee, I had to get the paperwork for all 4 of us to submit to AIG so the account could be separated into 4 accounts and we all four owned our part before it was disbursed.

Your situation sounds a bit different in that your wife and her brother are co-owners. I think perhaps Edward Jones is simply crossing their t's and dotting their i's. Remember not all family members are honest in these situations ...and they don't want to be held responsible for mismanagement. Perhaps.

 

[kgtest]

The first, last and only FA I really ever spoke with was EJ rep out on Maui when I was working there. He said, you have enough information to do the investing yourself. I had already known from ER.org here that I needed a balanced AA etc. He made a couple of points after telling me I should be on my way to ER ...but to watch for the x factor... health insurance.

Sage advice, and I have never spent a dime on an FA to this day. Unless you consider my time invested on this forum asking ridiculous questions over and over.

 

[Independent]

Just adding one more data point to an old thread. Note the $300.

I have a similar problem. One of my sisters died in February. My other sister and I are "beneficiaries" on an EJ account. The EJ rep told me that we have to open new accounts to get the money because "company policy". I've done some online research and found a sample EJ "Transfer on Death Agreement". Assuming that my deceased sister signed this, the agreement is pretty clear that we need to open accounts.

The agreement is also pretty clear that EJ will charge us $300 for transferring the money from her account to ours. I'll bet they'll take it out of the old account, so unsuspecting beneficiaries won't see it.

I'll call tomorrow to see if I can get a copy of the TOD agreement that my sister actually signed.

This is bad on multiple levels. TOD agreements override wills. Vangaurd's site is full of warnings about that - like "What is the first thing I should do if I'm considering a TOD?" answer "Consult your attorney".

I'm also the PR for her estate. This TOD did, in fact, mess up the intentions she expressed when she did estate planning and got the will drafted. I expect the EJ rep said "avoid probate, get money to your heirs more quickly" and didn't say "but check with your attorney first". I'll ask the attorney, I think he'll say "If she had called, I would have told her no, don't do it".

So EJ collects $300 in fees for providing bad legal advice.

And, even though one claimed benefit for a TOD is that heirs get money sooner, the EJ rep did not bother to call us and tell us we were beneficiaries (we didn't know), even though I'll bet he knew about the death within a week.

 

[ls99]

I ended up filing a complaint with FINRA and PA AG to get fast eddie to transfer funds from late DW's account which was TOD to me at Vanguard. The smart Alecs created an account in my name first. FINRA got their attantion, fast. I also ordered that the account be closed, in writing....... well four years later I still get mailed paper statements showing $1.95 balance. I usually throw the 7 page drivel in the trash. By now it cost them more $ to maintain the account than it is worth.
A few months ago got letter from their inactive/abandoned account dept. I wrote them, which part of Close Account do you not understand?
This month got another paper statement showing $1.95 balace.

Conclusion: Fast eddie practicing intentional stupidity.
Sleazebags, they are.

 

[MRG]

I ended up filing a complaint with FINRA and PA AG to get fast eddie to transfer funds from late DW's account which was TOD to me at Vanguard. The smart Alecs created an account in my name first. FINRA got their attantion, fast. I also ordered that the account be closed, in writing....... well four years later I still get mailed paper statements showing $1.95 balance. I usually throw the 7 page drivel in the trash. By now it cost them more $ to maintain the account than it is worth.
A few months ago got letter from their inactive/abandoned account dept. I wrote them, which part of Close Account do you not understand?
This month got another paper statement showing $1.95 balace.

Conclusion: Fast eddie practicing intentional stupidity.
Sleazebags, they are.

It's costs Ed exactly 0 dollars in account fees. The fund company pays a fee to their transfer agent. So they are paying for eddie.

 

[ls99]

It's costs Ed exactly 0 dollars in account fees. The fund company pays a fee to their transfer agent. So they are paying for eddie.

OK, did not know that.

 

[euro]

Could your wife liquidate the investments and transfer the proceeds out of EJ? Then once the account is empty, ask to close the account. Two separate transactions.

I would think that as an account owner, she would be allowed to make a withdrawal. Or does the death of MIL tangle the entire account?

I agree, if it is an option to just withdraw all the assets, I would do just that. Run the balance to zero, if at all possible. THEN talk to them about closing the account and if they give you grief, tell them to pound sand.

 

[kimcdougc]

Could your wife liquidate the investments and transfer the proceeds out of EJ? Then once the account is empty, ask to close the account. Two separate transactions.

I would think that as an account owner, she would be allowed to make a withdrawal. Or does the death of MIL tangle the entire account?

This is what I did when my mom died. I transferred all but about $100 out of the accounts to my personal accounts then closed the accounts. Worked great since my name was already on the accounts.

No questions asked.

 

[Independent]

I ended up filing a complaint with FINRA and PA AG to get fast eddie to transfer funds from late DW's account which was TOD to me at Vanguard. The smart Alecs created an account in my name first.

Did they create the account without your signature?

I don't want to sign their agreement which has a mandatory arbitration clause. So, I'd consider it progress if they set up the account without a signature.

 

[RunningBum]

I ended up filing a complaint with FINRA and PA AG to get fast eddie to transfer funds from late DW's account which was TOD to me at Vanguard. The smart Alecs created an account in my name first.

For an account at Vanguard, the TOD beneficiaries must open an account at Vanguard to transfer their assets in. It's my understanding that the beneficiary must contact VG to set all this up. After that you can keep, liquidate, or transfer the account elsewhere.

I'm not clear on the order of events you had at EJ but it might have been the same thing.