Estate planning at Capital Group
How to protect 32 Capital Group accounts — manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust by mail, and file death claims
Shareholder Services
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Shareholder Services
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Inherited Assets / Death Claims
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Capital Group has 32 investment accounts, each with different rules for what happens when the account holder dies. Of those, 29 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. The right combination of beneficiary designations and trust ownership can keep the entire portfolio out of probate.
Capital Group lets account holders update beneficiary designations online, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 10-15 minutes online; 1-2 weeks by mail. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle brokerage accounts into a trust.
There are two sides to estate planning at Capital Group: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust by mail, and review 32 account types at Capital Group.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
6-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Frequently asked questions
When you inherit an IRA at Capital Group and keep the assets in an inherited (beneficiary) IRA, you name your own successor beneficiaries on a separate Inherited IRA Beneficiary Change form. The standard IRA Beneficiary Change form (irgefm-004_iraben.pdf) is only for traditional, Roth, SEP/SARSEP, and SIMPLE IRAs you own outright -- it cannot be used on an already-inherited IRA. Call Capital Group at (800) 421-4225 to request the correct Inherited IRA form. Inherited IRA beneficiaries should also be aware of SECURE Act distribution rules, which may require the account to be emptied within 10 years and/or annual required minimum distributions; consult a tax advisor about your distribution schedule.
Individual and joint mutual fund and ETF accounts held at Capital Group can be retitled to a revocable living trust. Call (800) 421-4225 to request the trust account application or Name Change Request form. You will need to provide a Certification of Trust or full trust agreement, government-issued ID for all trustees, and a completed W-9 -- a revocable living trust typically uses the grantor's Social Security number rather than a separate trust EIN. Documents can be submitted via the secure investor upload portal at capitalgroup.com/submit or by mail. Phone requests require only one trustee's authorization, but written financial requests may require all trustees to sign depending on the option selected on the application. IRA, SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, CollegeAmerica 529, and ABLEAmerica accounts cannot be retitled to a trust, but IRAs can name a trust as beneficiary.
Sources
Data sourced from Capital Group primary sources (22 pages reviewed). How we research.
Shareholder Services
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Shareholder Services
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Inherited Assets / Death Claims
American Funds Service Company, P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007 (western/central states and international) or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280 (eastern states)
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Capital Group accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
