What to do when a Cerity Partners account holder dies
Contact Cerity Partners's Estate & Gift Planning — 8-step process, 8 required documents, and schwab secures the accounts on notification and typically verifies an uploaded death certificate within 5 business days, after which it contacts the inheritors; schwab states most transfers finish in a few weeks once inheritors return the paperwork. probate-dependent accounts run longer because they wait on letters from the court.
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
After a Cerity Partners account holder dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Cerity Partners's Estate & Gift Planning at 1-212-202-1810 with the proper legal authority documents.
The claim process begins with a phone call to 1-212-202-1810. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate available when making initial contact.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Cerity Partners:
Filing a claim
1
Notify Cerity Partners: call the deceased's advisor, or the firm's main line (212) 202-1810 (Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ET), or use https://www.ceritypartners.com/contact/
- Cerity Partners publishes no claims portal, no claims fax, and no claims email -- the advisor relationship is the intake channel
2
Identify the custodian that actually holds the assets -- that is who settles the account. Per Cerity Partners' Form ADV Schedule D Section 5.K.(3), its custodians are:
- Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (San Francisco) -- the larger of the two by assets
- Fidelity (reported as Fidelity Distributors Company LLC, Boston)
- Your account statement shows which one holds your account; the advisor can confirm
3
Report the death to that custodian directly (this can run in parallel with the advisor call and immediately restricts the account):
- Charles Schwab: notify online at https://www.schwab.com/life-events/losing-a-loved-one or call Schwab Estate Services at 877-566-2284 (Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM ET). Schwab needs only the decedent's name and Social Security number to secure the accounts; you can upload the death certificate at the same time
- Fidelity: report the death at https://digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/journeys/loss/report-a-death or call Fidelity Transition Services at 800-544-0003
4
Submit the death certificate and the documents the registration calls for:
- TOD account: certified death certificate plus each beneficiary's photo ID; the custodian moves the assets to the beneficiary directly, outside probate
- Joint with right of survivorship: certified death certificate; the surviving owner keeps the account
- Trust account: certified death certificate, the Certificate of Trust naming the successor trustee, and the successor trustee's photo ID
- No beneficiary and no survivorship: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (or a state small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies) naming you as personal representative
5
Provide a state inheritance tax waiver if the decedent's state requires one -- Fidelity conditions the release of inherited IRA assets on that waiver where state law requires it, and custodians can hold the transfer until it is produced
6
A Medallion Signature Guarantee may be required on the custodian's transfer paperwork depending on the account, the dollar amount, and the transfer type; banks and credit unions issue them. Ask the custodian which of your forms need one before you sign
7
Claim any life insurance or annuity death benefit from the ISSUING INSURER on its own claim form -- those proceeds never route through Cerity Partners or the investment custodian
8
Cerity Partners' estate and gift planning and tax teams can coordinate the settlement, the estate and trust tax filings, and the distribution plan once the custodian releases assets
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee
- Account statement or account numbers identifying the custodian of record (Charles Schwab or Fidelity)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration where there is no TOD or beneficiary designation
- Certificate of Trust and successor trustee identification for trust-titled accounts
- State inheritance tax waiver where the decedent's state requires one
- The custodian's estate transfer / inherited account forms, which may require a Medallion Signature Guarantee
- State small estate affidavit where the estate qualifies
What to know at this institution
Cerity Partners does not custody client assets, so it cannot itself release a deceased client's money -- the custodian named on the statement does. Form ADV Schedule D Section 5.K.(3) (filed 06/26/2026) identifies those custodians as Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (approximately $74.4 billion of separately managed account assets) and Fidelity (reported as Fidelity Distributors Company LLC, approximately $32.1 billion). Practically: the advisor is the relationship channel, and the custodian is the claims channel. Cerity Partners publishes no death-claim form, no claims fax, no claims email, and no claims portal; its main line is (212) 202-1810 and its principal office is 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016 (Form ADV Item 1.F). Life insurance and annuity death benefits are claimed from the issuing insurer, not from Cerity Partners.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Cerity Partners
Cerity Partners accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Cerity Partners's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Cerity Partners: Schwab secures the accounts on notification and typically verifies an uploaded death certificate within 5 business days, after which it contacts the inheritors; Schwab states most transfers finish in a few weeks once inheritors return the paperwork. Probate-dependent accounts run longer because they wait on Letters from the court. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by Cerity Partners includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee, and Account statement or account numbers identifying the custodian of record (Charles Schwab or Fidelity), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
The custodian does. Cerity Partners is an SEC-registered investment adviser that holds no custody of client assets; its Form ADV Schedule D Section 5.K.(3) names Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and Fidelity as the custodians of its separately managed account assets. Your Cerity Partners advisor is the relationship channel -- call the advisor, or (212) 202-1810 if you do not know who is assigned -- but the death-claim forms, the account restriction, and the actual transfer of assets all happen at the custodian. Report the death directly to that custodian as well: Schwab through https://www.schwab.com/life-events/losing-a-loved-one or Estate Services at 877-566-2284, or Fidelity through https://digital.fidelity.com/prgw/digital/journeys/loss/report-a-death or Transition Services at 800-544-0003.
No. Cerity Partners publishes no death-claim form, no claims fax number, no claims email address, and no claims portal, and a Cerity Partners client login is not a claims channel. Notification is by phone to the advisor or the main line (212) 202-1810, through https://www.ceritypartners.com/contact/, or by mail to Cerity Partners, 99 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016. The form you eventually sign belongs to the custodian holding the account (Charles Schwab or Fidelity), and the advisor supplies it.
Ask your Cerity Partners advisor to start the retitling. Because Cerity Partners custodies nothing, the advisor pulls the account retitling paperwork from the custodian that holds the account -- Charles Schwab or Fidelity -- and submits it for you. Bring a Certificate of Trust (or the full trust agreement) and photo ID for every trustee. A revocable trust keeps using the grantor's Social Security number and does not need its own EIN. Expect roughly 1-3 weeks, driven by the custodian's processing. IRAs cannot be retitled into a trust at all; the trust can only be named as beneficiary on the custodian's IRA beneficiary form.
Expect a certified death certificate and photo ID at minimum, plus a Certificate of Trust for a trust account or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration where there is no TOD or beneficiary designation. Two extra requirements catch families off guard on advisor-custodied accounts: a state inheritance tax waiver, which Fidelity requires before releasing inherited IRA assets where the decedent's state calls for one, and a Medallion Signature Guarantee, which custodians require on certain transfer forms depending on the account type and dollar amount. Banks and credit unions issue Medallion guarantees. Ask the custodian which of your specific forms need one before you sign anything.
Cerity Partners's 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. can be reached by phone at 1-212-202-1810 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Cerity Partners investment accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Estate & Gift Planning to confirm what applies.
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
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