The problem here is that the account could have been opened with any number of 529 plans nationwide. So what you'll need to do is play a bit of Sherlock to identify the plan. However, we need some additional information first:
- Has your mother passed away? This seems to be implied, but not explicitly stated. Ideally you should be able to ask her which plan or, if she doesn't remember, who the advisor was that worked at the BNO branch in question. They would in-turn have the records. If she has passed away, please ignore the aforementioned.
- Did your mother work with an advisor at the BNO branch and, if so, do you know with whom she worked? The best course of action is to contact the bank to find out what advisor worked with your mother, and get the requisite information from them.
- If you don't know the advisor, you can try reaching out to Home Bank, which acquired BNO some time ago, and ask if they have any records. If not, you could also get information about which broker dealer the advisors that worked out of their offices represented. Then you can contact that broker-dealer to ask for their records in-turn.
- If none of this pans out, you could still blind-call advisor-sold 529 plan providers to ask if they have any records of a plan where your nephews are listed as the beneficiary. Start with CollegeAmerica, since it's the largest, and work your way down, calling each advisor-sold plan until you get someone with a record. A word of caution, most will probably not give you any information for privacy reasons without a death certificate and possibly proof of identity of the beneficiary; every plan has its own privacy requirements, but they're all strict.
If you can provide a little more detail I might be able to help you further. Why are you looking into this instead of the parents of the beneficiary? Has the beneficiary reached the age of majority? In what state does the beneficiary reside? Do you know if she named a successor account owner and who that might be?
I may have some additional suggestions once I have some more details.
Good luck,
Brian Boswell
VP, Research & Development
This information does not constitute tax advice and is provided for informational purposes only. Please consult your tax advisor, financial advisor, local taxing authority, and/or plan provider or sponsor for more information.