Cashing Dad's IRA -- in 9 trips

Trip 5: David left a phone message for the branch manager after several days passed. When he didn't return the call, David went in. Jack's accounts still weren't flagged, so the manager dialed the IRA department where they had been taken by courier and was put on hold. After 15 minutes, David had to leave for work. The manager promised to call when he got through to the IRA folks. David never got a message.

Trip 6: David was anxious to transfer one of the two IRAs before the year ended to minimize the tax consequences to his dad of having to declare the proceeds of both accounts as income in 2008. The branch manager was off Dec. 28 when we visited, so the assistant branch manager directed us to another representative. When she saw that Jack's account was still not tagged, she telephoned the central IRA department. She sat on hold for 15 minutes before speaking with someone there. Jack's documents were nowhere to be found; would we please send them again?

We've already done that, David said quietly, and we need this taken care of today. Our representative called the branch manager on his cellphone; fortunately, he remembered David and verbally authorized the account transfer. The rep found the forms to open the IRA but needed time to fill them out. Would we please come back in a couple of hours? she asked, promising to have the paperwork finished.

Trip 7 (later that day): Success -- one IRA was transferred to Jack's checking account.

Trip 8: In early January, David decided to open the second IRA. He was directed to the first representative he met back in October. Jack's account file still didn't note David's power of attorney, she said, so she couldn't make the transfer. When she dialed the IRA department to find out what the holdup was, she too sat on hold, for 10 minutes, before David had to head to work.

Trip 9: Finally. Jack's account file still didn't note David as his designee, but the branch manager again verbally authorized the transfer.

This shouldn't have been so hard.

Certainly, we want banks to protect our loved ones from scammers and rip-off artists. Too often, said Anna Burns, a lawyer with Bet Tzedek Legal Services of Los Angeles, "we see people who get the power of attorney and then go clean out their parents' or friend's accounts." Or lawyers who loot their client's estate.

Of course Bank of America was absolutely right to inspect Jack's documents and verify that David was his son.