How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Cambridge
Beneficiaries are managed in branch or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by mail
Preparing your Cambridge investment accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
The transfer rules at Cambridge vary across 11 investment accounts. Below is a breakdown of beneficiary options, trust funding, and which products support each method.
Beneficiary form at Cambridge
Beneficiary designation or TOD form from the clearing firm (NFS or Pershing).
- Full legal name, date of birth, SSN, relationship, and allocation percentages
- For trusts as beneficiary: provide trust name, date established, and tax ID number
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you
- Trust name, date established and tax ID number (when naming a trust)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a meeting with your financial advisor)
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued ID for all trustees
- Trust name, date established, and EIN
- Trustee information
- Copy of the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued ID copies for all trustees
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust. By mail, a copy is sent
- Government-issued ID (for all trustees). By mail, copies of the IDs are sent
- Account retitling forms from the clearing firm
- EIN for the trust (if the trust is irrevocable)
- Full legal name, date of birth, SSN, relationship, and allocation percentages
- For trusts as beneficiary: provide trust name, date established, and tax ID number
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you
- Trust name, date established and tax ID number (when naming a trust)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a meeting with your financial advisor)
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued ID for all trustees
- Trust name, date established, and EIN
- Trustee information
- Copy of the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued ID copies for all trustees
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust. By mail, a copy is sent
- Government-issued ID (for all trustees). By mail, copies of the IDs are sent
- Account retitling forms from the clearing firm
- EIN for the trust (if the trust is irrevocable)
- Full legal name, date of birth, SSN, relationship, and allocation percentages
- For trusts as beneficiary: provide trust name, date established, and tax ID number
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's full legal name
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number
- Each beneficiary's relationship to you
- Trust name, date established and tax ID number (when naming a trust)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a meeting with your financial advisor)
What Cambridge says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Cambridge's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary1
- Investment account
Cambridge holds no custody, so the governing beneficiary or TOD form belongs to the custodian and is supplied on request through your financial professional.1
Which form you get depends on the custodian named on your statement: National Financial Services or Pershing for brokerage accounts, and possibly Schwab Advisor Services or Fidelity Institutional for a CIRA advisory account. A household with accounts at two custodians needs two sets of forms.1
Who can be named1
- A trust
A trust can be named as beneficiary. The form asks for the trust's name, date established and tax ID number.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
The form takes an allocation percentage for each beneficiary.1
Beneficiary forms Cambridge issues1
- Beneficiary designation or TOD form from the clearing firm (NFS or Pershing)
Completed by the account owner, returned to the financial advisor. Sent by the institution on request.1
What Cambridge's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- A designation and a will
Named beneficiaries and TOD registrations control ahead of your will.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Investment account
Retitling a Cambridge account into a trust is a custodian transaction, not a Cambridge transaction. The retitling form set and the processing queue belong to National Financial Services, Pershing, Schwab Advisor Services or Fidelity Institutional, depending on where the account sits.1
Your financial professional supplies the correct form set once you confirm the custodian from the statement.1
Trust account forms Cambridge issues1
- Account retitling or new trust account forms from the clearing firm (NFS or Pershing)
Completed by the financial advisor, signed by the trustees. Sent by the institution on request.1
Accounts handled elsewhere4
- National Financial Services
Custody of Cambridge brokerage accounts, with their beneficiary, TOD and trust retitling forms1
- Pershing
Custody of Cambridge brokerage accounts, with their beneficiary, TOD and trust retitling forms1
- Schwab Advisor Services
Possible custody of a CIRA advisory account, with its beneficiary, TOD and trust retitling forms1
- Fidelity Institutional
Possible custody of a CIRA advisory account, with its beneficiary, TOD and trust retitling forms1
Not in Cambridge's published guidance2
- A beneficiary form to download
- An online way to name a beneficiary
Sources1
- 1.Cambridge guidance on working through your financial professional
Sources
Data sourced from Cambridge primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Cambridge instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Cambridge primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Cambridge estate support
Client Support Team
Phone
Toll-free
Reception
Business development
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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