If the children were named beneficiaries then they owned the IRA as of the time of death and the IRA trustee should have either moved the money into separate inherited IRA's for each child that remained in the name of the deceased or distributed the money to each child if that was what was wanted. If remaining in an inherited IRA, they would be required to take RMDs (Required Minimum Distributions) each year.
Was the IRA trustee notified of the death? Did they send letters to the children (or addressed to the beneficiaries through the address that they had on record)?
You don't claim the money, the children must report it on their own tax returns if required to file. I have never heard of such a thing as an IRA with named beneficiary becoming unclaimed property without many letters being sent first.
There must have been some breakdown in communications if nothing has been done since 2009. I have no idea how the State will report this.
(User
@dmertz do you have any insight on this ?)
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
