What to do when a Hightower account holder dies
Contact Hightower's Hightower Trust Company, NA — 7-step process, 6 required documents, and generally 2-6 weeks from a complete packet, and it is the custodian's clock, not hightower's. tod and joint survivorship transfers are the fastest; inherited iras require the custodian to open a new account first; estate claims wait on letters from the probate court. a medallion signature guarantee requirement or a missing certified death certificate is the usual cause of a restart.
Hightower Advisors Main Office
200 W Madison, 25th Floor, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606
Hightower Trust Company, NA
Hightower Trust Company, NA, 300 Madison Avenue, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10017
No Hightower claims department: report the death to the Hightower Advisor Practice that serviced the account. The claim itself is filed with the account custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing), which releases the assets
200 W. Madison St., Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606
What happens to Hightower investment accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Hightower's No Hightower claims department: report the death to the Hightower Advisor Practice that serviced the account. The claim itself is filed with the account custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing), which releases the assets ((312) 962-3800) to claim the funds.
Hightower offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Hightower works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Find the practice at https://hightoweradvisors.com/find-an-advisor.html or in the practice directory at https://hightoweradvisors.com/hightower-financial-advisory-practices.html
- Or call the Chicago office at (312) 962-3800 and ask to be routed to the servicing practice
- Give the decedent's full legal name and date of death, and ask the advisor to notify the custodian so trading authority and any standing distributions stop
- Certified death certificate (order extras: each custodian keeps its own copy)
- The custodian's death-claim / account-transfer form, plus the inheriting party's ID and Social Security number
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if the account was individually titled with no TOD beneficiary and no surviving joint owner
- Trust agreement or Certification of Trust plus successor trustee ID if the trust is the account owner or the named beneficiary
- TOD account: the custodian moves the assets into an account in the named beneficiary's name, outside probate
- Joint account with right of survivorship: the custodian retitles to the survivor
- Trust-titled account: the assets stay in the trust and the successor trustee takes over control
- IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP IRA: the custodian opens an inherited IRA for the designated beneficiary; the will has no effect on it, and the SECURE Act 10-year rule generally governs the payout for a non-spouse beneficiary
- Individually titled with no beneficiary: probate, then Letters, then the custodian retitles to the estate
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate (one per custodian holding an account, plus spares)
- The custodian's own death-claim or account-transfer form (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing; obtained through the advisor -- Hightower publishes no claim form)
- Government-issued photo ID and Social Security number for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (individually titled account with no TOD beneficiary and no surviving joint owner)
- Trust agreement or Certification of Trust plus successor trustee identification (trust-titled account or trust beneficiary)
- The most recent custodial statement, which identifies the custodian, the account number, and the titling
What to know at this institution
The single most useful fact about settling a Hightower account: Hightower does not hold the money. Its Form ADV Part 2A (March 31, 2026) confirms all client assets sit with unaffiliated qualified custodians -- generally Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing -- so the advisor is the coordinator and the custodian is the payer. A beneficiary who calls Hightower will be routed to the Advisor Practice, which then works the custodian's process on their behalf. Hightower publishes no claims phone line, no claims fax, no claims email, and no claims portal; (312) 962-3800 (Chicago) reaches the firm and routes to the practice. Where Hightower Trust Company, NA serves as trustee, that affiliate is the fiduciary and handles distributions, principal-and-income accounting, beneficiary tax forms, and trust income tax returns; Hightower Trust Company of Illinois, LLC (Illinois-chartered) handles retirement plan services.
Processing timelines at Hightower: Generally 2-6 weeks from a complete packet, and it is the custodian's clock, not Hightower's. TOD and joint survivorship transfers are the fastest; inherited IRAs require the custodian to open a new account first; estate claims wait on Letters from the probate court. A Medallion signature guarantee requirement or a missing certified death certificate is the usual cause of a restart. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Hightower requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate (one per custodian holding an account, plus spares), The custodian's own death-claim or account-transfer form (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing; obtained through the advisor -- Hightower publishes no claim form), and Government-issued photo ID and Social Security number for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee, and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Call the Hightower Advisor Practice first, but understand what it can and cannot do. Hightower is a registered investment adviser, not a bank or a custodian: its Form ADV Part 2A states that Hightower "does not directly hold client funds or securities; all client assets are held by unaffiliated qualified custodians." The custodian -- generally Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing -- is the entity that freezes the account, accepts the certified death certificate, and legally releases or retitles the assets. The advisor coordinates: identifies the custodian, obtains that custodian's death-claim and transfer forms, and walks the packet through. There is no Hightower claims department, claims portal, or branch. Reach the Advisor Practice at hightoweradvisors.com/find-an-advisor.html or the Chicago office at (312) 962-3800.
Hightower generally recommends Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing as the qualified custodian, and each Advisor Practice picks its own -- so two Hightower clients can face two entirely different sets of forms. The custodian is the counterparty of record: the transfer-on-death agreement, the IRA beneficiary designation, the trust account application, and the death-claim form all carry the custodian's name, and the custodian sets its own requirements (some demand a Medallion signature guarantee on a transfer). Find the custodian on your quarterly custodial statement, which arrives directly from the custodian and which Hightower's ADV tells clients to treat as the record -- not on a Hightower performance report. Confirm the custodian before you start any estate paperwork.
The advisory relationship was the decedent's, not the account's. Once the custodian retitles the assets to a TOD beneficiary, a surviving joint owner, an inherited IRA, a trust, or the estate, the inheriting party chooses whether to keep the same Hightower Advisor Practice, move to a different one, or leave the custodian altogether. Two practical catches: each Advisor Practice sets its own account minimums, so an inherited slice of a portfolio may no longer meet them; and advisory fees, charged as a percentage of assets under management, generally keep accruing on assets still sitting in the decedent's name during the settlement period. Some practices pro-rate or waive them, but that is a per-practice decision. Executors and trustees should ask the practice in writing how fees will be handled between the date of death and the completion of the transfer.
Hightower's No Hightower claims department: report the death to the Hightower Advisor Practice that serviced the account. The claim itself is filed with the account custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing), which releases the assets can be reached by phone at (312) 962-3800 and email at compliance@hightoweradvisors.com for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Hightower investment accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The No Hightower claims department: report the death to the Hightower Advisor Practice that serviced the account. The claim itself is filed with the account custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing), which releases the assets can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Hightower primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Hightower Advisors Main Office
200 W Madison, 25th Floor, Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606
Hightower Trust Company, NA
Hightower Trust Company, NA, 300 Madison Avenue, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10017
No Hightower claims department: report the death to the Hightower Advisor Practice that serviced the account. The claim itself is filed with the account custodian (Fidelity, Schwab, or Pershing), which releases the assets
200 W. Madison St., Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Hightower accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
More tools for handling this estate
Calculators and checklists for executors and trustees.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Estimate attorney fees, executor fees, court costs, and timeline for probating an estate in your state. See if the estate qualifies for simplified probate procedures.
How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Calculate how much an executor (personal representative) can charge for administering an estate. See if your state has statutory fees or uses reasonable compensation.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Find out who inherits your estate and how much they get if you die without a will. Based on your state's intestate succession laws.
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
Find out what's fair compensation for serving as trustee. Compare family, professional, and corporate trustee rates based on your situation.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Calculate federal estate tax, state estate tax (12 states + DC), and inheritance tax (5 states) for an estate or trust.
How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?
Calculate how many certified death certificates you need based on the assets and accounts you need to close. See state-specific ordering information.
