Estate planning at Fidelity
How to protect 29 Fidelity accounts — manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust online, and file death claims
Customer Service
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0002
Customer Service
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0002
Death Claims / Beneficiary Distribution
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0039
Fidelity offers 29 consumer investment accounts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 26 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.
Fidelity lets account holders update beneficiary designations online, in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking a few minutes online. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle brokerage accounts into a trust.
Fidelity has documented procedures for both preparing accounts during your lifetime and handling claims when an account holder passes away.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to manage beneficiaries online, fund a trust online, and review 29 account types at Fidelity.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
5-step process, 7 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Frequently asked questions
The Fidelity Certification of Trust is an alternative to submitting your full trust agreement when retitling accounts to a trust. It captures the essential trust details (trust name, date, trustees, relevant provisions) without requiring you to share the entire trust document. Trustee signatures must be notarized in certain states including California, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont.
A Medallion Signature Guarantee is required for mail-in trust retitling when the account balance exceeds $100,000, unless the forms are completed at a Fidelity Investor Center with all signers present. You can obtain a Medallion Signature Guarantee at most banks or credit unions where you are a customer - a notary public is not a substitute. Additionally, some states require trustee signatures to be notarized, including California, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Vermont.
Taxable Fidelity Crypto accounts support TOD beneficiary designations and can be retitled to a trust. Fidelity Crypto IRAs (Roth, Traditional, or Rollover) use the IRA beneficiary designation form and cannot be retitled to a trust - a trust may only be named as beneficiary. Fidelity Crypto is unavailable in California and Oregon. Supported assets currently include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Solana (SOL).
Sources
Data sourced from Fidelity primary sources (17 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Service
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0002
Customer Service
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0002
Death Claims / Beneficiary Distribution
Fidelity Investments, P.O. Box 770001, Cincinnati, OH 45277-0039
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Fidelity accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
