Estate planning at Cerity Partners
How to protect 9 Cerity Partners accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Cerity Partners's Estate & Gift Planning
Cerity Partners (main line)
Phone1-212-202-1810
Fax1-212-937-1942
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Principal office line listed on Form ADV Item 1.F(3)
WebsiteLearn more→
Estate & Gift Planning
Phone1-212-202-1810
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
WebsiteLearn more→
No dedicated estates or claims department. Notification runs through the deceased client's advisor (or the main line), and the account is settled by the custodian.
Phone1-212-202-1810
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Charles Schwab Estate Services (custodian; Mon-Fri 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM ET)
Fidelity Transition Services (custodian)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Cerity Partners has 9 investment accounts, each with different rules for what happens when the account holder dies. Of those, 8 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.
Cerity Partners handles beneficiary designations in branch, by mail, and by phone. Accounts can also be retitled into a trust to keep them out of probate entirely.
There are two sides to estate planning at Cerity Partners: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 9 account types at Cerity Partners.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Cerity Partners's Estate & Gift Planning to file a claim. 8-step process, 8 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Reach Cerity Partners's Estate & Gift Planning at 1-212-202-1810 for help with any of these procedures.
Frequently asked questions
No. Cerity Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser, not a chartered trust company, so it does not serve as the corporate trustee. Its trust services page lists trust administration, estate administration, special asset management, asset protection trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and special needs trusts -- advisory and administration support around a trust whose trustee is you, a family member, or an outside corporate trustee. Its estate and gift planning page states the firm works with you and your attorney; it does not provide legal services.
Sources
Data sourced from Cerity Partners primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
Cerity Partners (main line)
Phone1-212-202-1810
Fax1-212-937-1942
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Principal office line listed on Form ADV Item 1.F(3)
WebsiteLearn more→
Estate & Gift Planning
Phone1-212-202-1810
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
WebsiteLearn more→
No dedicated estates or claims department. Notification runs through the deceased client's advisor (or the main line), and the account is settled by the custodian.
Phone1-212-202-1810
Mailing Address
Cerity Partners LLC, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Charles Schwab Estate Services (custodian; Mon-Fri 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM ET)
Fidelity Transition Services (custodian)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Cerity Partners accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
