What to do when an E*TRADE account holder dies

Available to download.¹

Completed online.²

Available to download.³

Completed by the authorized estate representative. Available to download.⁴

Completed by the executor or administrator. Available to download. Must be notarized.⁵

Completed by each child of the deceased IRA owner. Available to download. Must be notarized.⁶

Sent by the institution on request.³

Completed by the IRA beneficiary. Completed online.²

Completed online.²

On a transfer-on-death brokerage account, ownership of the assets vests in the designated beneficiaries on the death of the account holder, or of the surviving joint account holder.⁷

If no primary or contingent beneficiary survives the account holder, the assets are paid to the account holder's estate. Beneficiaries open an E*TRADE account to receive the assets, or use one they already have.⁷

A Morgan Stanley Private Bank pay-on-death account passes to the surviving beneficiaries on the death of the last surviving owner, in equal shares unless the owners gave other instructions in writing.⁸

To inherit an E*TRADE IRA, the beneficiary opens the same type of IRA through the Inherited IRA Application. Once it is open and the death certificate is verified, the inherited assets are moved into it.⁹

Notice of the death of a holder of a linked zerohash crypto account goes through the death notification page, and Morgan Stanley and zerohash coordinate the estate conversion.¹⁰

The estate representative, or a non-US individual beneficiary named on the brokerage account, opens a brokerage account at Morgan Stanley and an unlinked account directly at zerohash to convert the assets.¹⁰

E*TRADE bank accounts¹¹

Crypto accounts linked to an E*TRADE brokerage account¹⁰

For a date-of-death valuation statement, the estate representative sends a signed letter asking for it, with the deceased person's account number or Social Security number and how the statement should be sent. It goes only to an authorized party who has documented their role.¹²

Notification restricts the deceased person's self-directed individual, joint tenants in common and joint community property accounts, IRAs, 401(k)s, profit sharing plans, money purchase plans and Coverdell ESAs. Access may be limited until Beneficiary Services receives the documents.¹

It also restricts joint accounts with survivorship or by the entirety, trust accounts and business or fiduciary accounts when all owners, trustees or authorized individuals have died, and UTMA/UGMA accounts when the custodian or the minor has died.¹

After the death certificate has been reviewed, the deceased person's accounts are restricted: open orders are canceled and bill payments and checking are stopped.¹³

On notice of the death of an individual account holder, and before an executor or administrator is appointed, Morgan Stanley may close open positions, cancel open orders or take other action to protect the estate.¹⁴

On the death of a joint owner, the remaining owners notify Morgan Stanley immediately. It may then require documents and retain assets or restrict transactions, and the deceased owner's estate stays liable for losses from transactions started before it acted on the notice.¹⁴

Morgan Stanley is not liable for following instructions received from the account holder or an authorized agent before it receives notice of the death, even if it carries them out afterward.¹⁴

The Morgan Stanley Private Bank deposit agreement asks owners to notify the bank immediately of the death of any owner, authorized signer or designated beneficiary on the account.⁸

Under the transfer-on-death registration terms, Morgan Stanley has no obligation to locate or notify a beneficiary, or the personal representative of the account holder's estate, about the account.⁷

If an owner dies, the bank may freeze, offset, refuse or reverse deposits and transactions, such as government or retirement benefit payments payable to the deceased. Other owners reimburse funds the bank has to return.⁸

If the ownership of funds after an owner's death is in question, the bank may freeze all or part of the account until it receives proof of each person's right to the funds.⁸

A will alone is not enough. E*TRADE "will need either a court document that appoints the executor, typically called Letters Testamentary, or a legal document (e.g., a Small Estate Affidavit) that certifies probate is not required".¹²

If a dispute or suit arises over a transfer-on-death account, Morgan Stanley may deliver the account into the registry of the court and be discharged, and may require a judicial determination of ownership.⁷

Morgan Stanley adjusts cost basis automatically to date-of-death value on shares from an individual account. For joint and trust accounts, or where the alternative valuation date was elected, the Cost Basis Adjustment Form is required.⁴

Each child signing an Affidavit of Heirs indemnifies E*TRADE for relying on it, and E*TRADE may debit the beneficiaries' accounts to enforce the indemnity.⁶