Vot a coincidence!

    Update on Dad's Keogh. It becomes five IRAs, assuming all five of us fill out the voluminous paperwork to make that happen. I did and sent instructions to cash out immediately and send me the money. I received an email on 8/24 that the check had been cut and would be sent along presently.
    I got a call from Fidelity in New Hampshire this afternoon. (New Hampshire? That's what I said!) The young man thanked me for opening my IRA and inquired what were my plans for it. Without jumping up and down, screaming or throwing things (not counting the cat) I noted that I had already told them that there had apparently been a grave misunderstanding, that I had already told them that I was cashing out, and had already heard back that the check was in the mail. He put me on hold for a long time (he asked permission first) then came back on and asked if he could get to the bottom of it and call me back. I said sure.
    He did, quite soon. He said that they just had to sell the securities and the check would be on its way. He gave me a work item number to refer to if I didn't have the check within a week. I thanked him, but then checked the news from the past few weeks. As I suspected, 8/24 was pretty much exactly when the stock market crashed due to the troubled Chinese economy. Now I'm not mean-spirited and wouldn't particularly want Fidelity to take a loss just to get me my money faster when the Dow Jones was likely to recover again within days. (And anyway it's likely that I'm completely misunderstanding how securities work.) But, uh, the difference between getting an email on 8/24 saying the check was already printing and hearing on 9/9 that the securities to finance such a check haven't been sold yet does make one think a bit. Anyway, I'll be glad to see the back of this, hopefully within the week. Until I have to do exactly the same thing with William's IRA, of course.