Estate planning at Cetera
How to protect 11 Cetera accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Cetera's Cetera Trust Company, N.A.
Cetera
Subsidiary of Cetera Holdings (Aretec Group, Inc.); Genstar Capital closed an equity reinvestment in Cetera in December 2023
cetera.com→
Cetera Financial Group (account assistance by affiliated broker-dealer)
Cetera Financial Group, 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
Cetera Trust Company, N.A.
Cetera Trust Company, N.A., 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
No central estates or death-claims department. Notification runs through the deceased client's Cetera-affiliated financial professional or the broker-dealer named on the statement; the custodian holding the assets settles the account. Cetera Trust Company handles accounts where it is the named trustee.
Cetera Investment Services LLC, P.O. Box 283, St. Cloud, MN 56302-0283 (street: 400 First St. S., Suite 300, St. Cloud, MN 56301)
How your Cetera investment accounts transfer at death depends on how each one is titled and whether a beneficiary is on file. Of those, 11 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Getting these details right keeps assets out of probate and ensures they reach the intended recipients.
Beneficiary designations at Cetera can be managed in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes with your advisor; custodian processing follows. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle brokerage accounts into a trust.
Cetera provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 11 account types at Cetera.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Cetera's Cetera Trust Company, N.A. to file a claim. 8-step process, 9 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →For questions about any of these procedures, contact Cetera's Cetera Trust Company, N.A. at 1-800-818-7988.
Frequently asked questions
Cetera does not custody client assets itself. The Form ADV of Cetera Investment Advisers LLC (Schedule D Section 5.K.(3)) names four custodians holding 10 percent or more of its separately managed account assets: Pershing LLC (Jersey City, NJ), National Financial Services (Fidelity), Cetera Investment Services LLC (St. Cloud, MN -- a Cetera affiliate and self-clearing broker-dealer), and Charles Schwab. Whichever one appears on the statement supplies the TOD agreement, the beneficiary form, the trust retitling paperwork, and the estate transfer forms -- so two clients who both say they have "a Cetera account" can face entirely different documents. Your Cetera-affiliated financial professional confirms the custodian and supplies the matching form; there is no consumer-facing online beneficiary update at Cetera.
Sources
- cetera.com
- ceteratrust.com
- ceterainvestorcenter.com
- adviserinfo.sec.gov
- brokercheck.finra.org
- reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov
Data sourced from Cetera primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Cetera
Subsidiary of Cetera Holdings (Aretec Group, Inc.); Genstar Capital closed an equity reinvestment in Cetera in December 2023
cetera.com→Cetera Financial Group (account assistance by affiliated broker-dealer)
Cetera Financial Group, 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
Cetera Trust Company, N.A.
Cetera Trust Company, N.A., 655 W. Broadway, 11th Floor, San Diego, CA 92101
No central estates or death-claims department. Notification runs through the deceased client's Cetera-affiliated financial professional or the broker-dealer named on the statement; the custodian holding the assets settles the account. Cetera Trust Company handles accounts where it is the named trustee.
Cetera Investment Services LLC, P.O. Box 283, St. Cloud, MN 56302-0283 (street: 400 First St. S., Suite 300, St. Cloud, MN 56301)
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Cetera accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
