
Quoting
llworking
Yes, an estate has to be opened, and legally any creditors must be paid from anything that did not have a designated beneficiary. Anything that had a designated beneficiary passes outside the estate, so I do not understand why the benefits administrator is asking for an EIN number. If you give them the EIN number then the check will be written to the estate rather than the beneficiary, which would be improper. Its the beneficiary's SSN that should be included on the form, not the estate's EIN.
Of course, if for some reason the retirement account never had a beneficiary listed on it, then the money would have to go to the estate.