How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Interactive Brokers
Covers 4 investment, and 8 retirement accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
Client Services (ticket-based, via Client Portal Message Center)
Estate Processing
Interactive Brokers LLC, Estate Processing, P.O. Box A3770, Chicago, IL 60690-3770
Estate Processing
Interactive Brokers LLC, Estate Processing, P.O. Box A3770, Chicago, IL 60690-3770 (overnight/courier: 209 South LaSalle Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604)
There are two ways to keep your Interactive Brokers investment accounts out of probate: adding beneficiary designations and retitling eligible accounts into a revocable living trust. Which approach works best depends on the account type and your overall estate plan.
With 12 product types, Interactive Brokers offers a range of transfer options. Some investment accounts support Transfer on Death (TOD) designations, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.
- Choose the beneficiary type: Individual or Legal Entity (a trust, corporation, or guardianship is allowed)
- Choose the association type (Primary Beneficiary or Contingent Beneficiary) and the relationship (Brother, Daughter, Father, Husband, Mother, Other, Sister, Son, or Wife)
- Enter the beneficiary's details and their Percent of Ownership
- You must name 1 to 6 Primary beneficiaries whose percentages total 100%; if you also name Contingent (Secondary) beneficiaries, THEIR percentages must separately total 100%
- A minor can be named only if you designate an authorized signer (custodian, trustee, or guardian) for them
- To pay an eligible beneficiary's share to their descendants if they predecease you, click the card icon and configure Per Stirpes
- Pass to any remaining Primary Beneficiaries pro rata, and if none remain, pass to any Contingent Beneficiaries (this is the default)
- Pass directly to any Contingent Beneficiaries and, if none remain, pass to the estate of the (last surviving) account owner — and note this applies EVEN IF one or more Primary Beneficiaries are still living
- Click the Transfer on Death Agreement link to open a pre-populated form
- Print it, sign it, and have it NOTARIZED — IBKR requires formal signature and notarization on the TOD Agreement
- Submit it to IBKR's New Accounts department using the instructions provided with the form
- When IBKR approves it, your account title is amended to show the designation (for example "Jane Doe, TOD") and your statements reflect the new title
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- TOD registration is available ONLY to US-based Individual accounts, Joint accounts registered as Tenants with Rights of Survivorship or Tenants by Entirety, and individual IRA account users. Not available for Tenants in Common, Corporate, or UGMA/UTMA accounts
- The Transfer on Death Agreement must be signed AND NOTARIZED — an online-only designation is not effective until IBKR receives and approves the signed agreement
- A new signed Transfer on Death Agreement is required every time you modify or remove a TOD beneficiary
- A TOD revocation must be RECEIVED AND APPROVED by IBKR before the account holder's death to be effective
- 1 to 6 primary beneficiaries whose percentages total 100%; contingent beneficiary percentages must separately total 100%
- Beneficiaries may be individuals or legal entities (trust, corporation, guardianship); a minor may be named only if an authorized signer is designated
- Per Stirpes can be configured for eligible beneficiaries via the card icon on the Account Inheritance page
- IRA beneficiary designation requires a notarized signature or a Medallion Signature Guarantee for both the account owner and the spouse
- IRA spousal consent is required whenever the holder is married and a non-spouse is a primary beneficiary — not limited to community property states. Brokerage TOD spousal consent applies in community property states when the spouse is not the sole primary beneficiary
- IBKR warns that some US states do not allow beneficiary registration or impose restrictions, and places the burden of determining this on the account holder
- Non-US residents must supply a national identification document showing the ID number, a photograph, and date of birth
Sources
Data sourced from Interactive Brokers primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Interactive Brokers instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Interactive Brokers primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Client Services (ticket-based, via Client Portal Message Center)
Estate Processing
Interactive Brokers LLC, Estate Processing, P.O. Box A3770, Chicago, IL 60690-3770
Estate Processing
Interactive Brokers LLC, Estate Processing, P.O. Box A3770, Chicago, IL 60690-3770 (overnight/courier: 209 South LaSalle Street, 10th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604)
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