Estate planning at Dimensional

How to protect 7 Dimensional accounts — manage beneficiaries by phone, fund a trust by mail, and file claims through Dimensional's SS&C GIDS, Inc. (Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent) - Handles trust registrations, beneficiary designations, and estate re-registrations for mutual fund shares held on the transfer agent's books. For ETFs held at a brokerage, contact the brokerage directly.

Dimensional

Brokerage · Nationwide

dimensional.com→

Dimensional Fund Advisors - Shareholder Services

Phone1-512-306-7400

Toll-Free1-888-576-1167

Fax1-512-306-7499

Mailing Address

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, 6300 Bee Cave Road, Building One, Austin, TX 78746

Financial Advisors

1-512-306-4308

Institutional Investors

1-512-306-4411

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SS&C GIDS, Inc. (Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent) - Handles trust registrations, beneficiary designations, and estate re-registrations for mutual fund shares held on the transfer agent's books. For ETFs held at a brokerage, contact the brokerage directly.

Phone1-888-576-1167

Mailing Address

SS&C GIDS, Inc., 1055 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64105

WebsiteLearn more→

SS&C GIDS, Inc. (Transfer Agent) - Estate re-registrations and redemptions for directly held Dimensional mutual fund shares. Dimensional itself does not take retail estate claims. For ETFs held at a brokerage, contact the brokerage firm. For 401(k)/403(b), 529, HSA, or variable annuity holdings, contact the plan administrator or plan provider.

Phone1-888-576-1167

Toll-Free1-888-576-1167

Mailing Address

SS&C GIDS, Inc., 1055 Broadway Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64105

WebsiteNotify online→

Verified Jul 2026

Dimensional offers 7 consumer investment accounts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 6 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Understanding the transfer methods available for each account type helps families keep assets out of probate and ensure they pass to the right people.

Beneficiary designations at Dimensional can be managed by mail and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes to complete form; processing time varies. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle brokerage accounts into a trust.

There are two sides to estate planning at Dimensional: 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 by phone, fund a trust by mail, and review 7 account types at Dimensional.

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When someone dies

Death claim process

Contact Dimensional's SS&C GIDS, Inc. (Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent) - Handles trust registrations, beneficiary designations, and estate re-registrations for mutual fund shares held on the transfer agent's books. For ETFs held at a brokerage, contact the brokerage directly. to file a claim. 8-step process, 8 required documents, and contact information for survivors.

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Reach Dimensional's SS&C GIDS, Inc. (Transfer Agent and Dividend Disbursing Agent) - Handles trust registrations, beneficiary designations, and estate re-registrations for mutual fund shares held on the transfer agent's books. For ETFs held at a brokerage, contact the brokerage directly. at 1-888-576-1167 for help with any of these procedures.

Frequently asked questions

Usually yes. The funds' registration statement allows the transfer agent to require a Medallion Signature Guarantee when redemption proceeds are wired to a bank account other than the standing instructions on file, or paid by check to an address other than the address of record. An estate settlement almost always meets that description, because the money is going to an estate account, a trust account, or a beneficiary rather than back to the decedent's own bank and address. A Medallion Signature Guarantee is obtained from a bank or broker that participates in a medallion program; a notary public is not a substitute for it.

For ETFs, retitle the brokerage account itself to the trust through the brokerage firm; the Dimensional ETF shares move with the account and no Dimensional paperwork is involved. For mutual fund shares on the transfer agent's books, call SS&C GIDS, Inc. at (888) 576-1167 for the account registration forms, and work through your financial advisor — the funds are sold only to Eligible Investors, so the advisor of record normally submits the re-registration. The funds do accept a trust as the registered owner: the registration statement makes US domestic trusts with a US address of record eligible to hold shares. You will need a Certificate of Trust or the trust agreement, identification for the trustees, and the trust tax identification number. IRAs and employer plan accounts cannot be retitled to a trust — name the trust as beneficiary instead.

Yes, but the designation is made with the plan administrator or IRA custodian, not with Dimensional — Dimensional is only the investment option inside the plan, so its funds carry no beneficiary designation of their own. The trust must meet the IRS "see-through" requirements under Treasury Regulation 1.401(a)(9)-4 for the trust beneficiaries to be treated as designated beneficiaries. Under the SECURE Act most non-spouse trust beneficiaries are subject to the 10-year distribution rule. Consult a tax advisor before naming a trust as beneficiary of a retirement account.