@JDF64 , that's a really odd way to make out the check and it's unclear to me whether or not this check actually constituted a trustee-to-trustee transfer or instead was a payment to you. However, since the receiving custodian accepted the check without you endorsing the check and did not report it as a rollover, it seems that they believe that you were not the payee and that this was indeed a trustee-to-trustee transfer.
What is the code in box 7 of the Form 1099-R?
Is the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box marked?
I'll assume that the code in box 7 is 4 and that the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box is marked. In this case, given the uncooperativeness of CGM, it seems that you will have to submit a substitute Form 1099-R (Form 4852) showing zeros in boxes 1 and 2a and explaining that the payment to the new IRA constituted a nonreportable trustee-to-trustee transfer and not a distribution paid to you.
If the IRA/SEP/SIMPLE box on the Form 1099-R from CGM is not marked, the distribution was not from an IRA and the substitute Form 1099-R needs to be prepared differently.
