
What happens to your Greenlight accounts when you die
No beneficiary or trust option on any account, so they pass through the estate
Greenlight does not currently support beneficiary designations, transfer-on-death registrations, or trust account titling on any account type. All Greenlight investment accounts pass through the estate at death and may require probate.
When an account holder dies, the executor or administrator will need to contact Greenlight with a death certificate and legal authority documents to claim account balances. The process and required documents are covered on the death claim page.
No beneficiary form at Greenlight
Beneficiaries are named by phone.
Greenlight does not currently support beneficiary designations (POD or TOD) on any account type. All accounts transfer through the estate at death and may require probate.
Why trust accounts are not available
Greenlight does not support retitling accounts into a trust, naming a trust as beneficiary, or any other probate-avoidance mechanism. Account balances transfer through the estate at death.
Greenlight Debit Card (Card Account)
Greenlight Savings
Supported Adult Card Account (Family Shield)
Investing for Kids (Parent-Owned Invest Account)
Investing for Parents (Parent-Owned Invest Account)
What Greenlight says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Greenlight's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary3
- Stored balance
The Card Account and Savings take no POD designation. Their balances are prepaid-card records held in a pooled deposit account at Community Federal Savings Bank (CFSB) and its Network Banks, in the Primary Accountholder's name.1
The CFSB Cardholder Agreement provides no death-beneficiary mechanism.1
The Greenlight kids' cards that GreenState Credit Union gives its members are not GreenState deposits and carry no POD option. They sit at Community Federal Savings Bank under Greenlight's single Primary Accountholder structure.2
- Investment account
The Invest Account takes no TOD designation, and the Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service provide no death-beneficiary mechanism. The account is opened at Alpaca Securities, LLC through the Greenlight app, so a TOD form cannot be filed with Alpaca independently.3
A child's "Investing for Kids" portfolio is owned by the parent, so a beneficiary cannot be named on it and the child has no automatic claim to it. The parent also files the taxes on it.3
- Joint account with survivorship
No account is held jointly: every account sits under a single Primary Accountholder, and children and Supported Adults are cardholders, not owners.1
Which accounts a trust can hold2
- Stored balance
Card Account funds sit in a pooled deposit account at Community Federal Savings Bank or a Network Bank, and cannot be titled to a trust through the Greenlight app.1
- Investment account
Invest Account assets sit in Alpaca Securities, LLC custody, and cannot be titled to a trust through the Greenlight app.3
What Greenlight says about trust accounts1
- Whether a new account is opened
Greenlight does not open accounts in the name of a trust or retitle an existing account into one. The CFSB Cardholder Agreement and the Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service contemplate only an individual Primary Accountholder.1, 3
The Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service state that rights under the agreement are personal and may not be assigned "by operation of law or otherwise."3
Accounts handled elsewhere2
Not in Greenlight's published guidance5
- What the owner provides to name a beneficiary
- A beneficiary designation form
- An online way to name a beneficiary
- A beneficiary article in the help center
- A certification of trust process
Sources4
- 1.CFSB Cardholder Agreement
- 2.GreenState Credit Union planning record (old specialRequirements text on Greenlight cards)
- 3.Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service
- 4.Greenlight website footer
Sources
Data sourced from Greenlight primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Greenlight instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Greenlight primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Greenlight estate support
Greenlight Customer Support
Phone
Text support
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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