What to do when a Mariner account holder dies
Contact Mariner's Estate Planning and Trust Services (Mariner Trust Company, LLC) — 5-step process, 9 required documents, and mariner publishes no claim timeline, and it is not the party that controls one — the custodian is. in practice the advisor can produce account and date-of-death valuation information within days of receiving the death certificate, while the actual transfer runs on the custodian's clock once its claim packet is submitted in good order. trust accounts where mariner trust company already serves as trustee or co-trustee move fastest, because no court appointment is needed before anyone has authority to act. individually owned accounts with no tod registration wait on the probate court to issue letters.
Mariner Client Services
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
Estate Planning and Trust Services (Mariner Trust Company, LLC)
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
Handled by the decedent's Mariner advisor, who coordinates with the custodian (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing). Mariner has no separate claims department, and the claim itself is filed with the custodian.
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
After an account holder at Mariner dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Mariner's Handled by the decedent's Mariner advisor, who coordinates with the custodian (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing). Mariner has no separate claims department, and the claim itself is filed with the custodian. at 1-913-904-5700 with the proper legal authority documents.
The claim process begins with a phone call to 1-913-904-5700. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate available when making initial contact.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Mariner requires:
Filing a claim
- Mariner is a registered investment advisor. It does not hold the assets — Charles Schwab, Fidelity (National Financial Services LLC), or Pershing does
- Mariner's Form ADV Part 2A states that all third-party distributions from a custodial account must be signed by the client, and that Mariner has NO authority to instruct the custodian to distribute assets to a third party. It cannot move a decedent's money to a beneficiary or to an estate account on its own
- The custodian's claim paperwork, signed by the person entitled to the assets, is what actually transfers them
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (probate accounts)
- Trust agreement and trustee certification (trust-titled accounts)
- Inherited IRA application (retirement account beneficiaries) and an affidavit of domicile where required
- Taxable account with a TOD registration, or a joint account with survivorship: the custodian re-registers it to the survivor or TOD beneficiary — outside probate
- IRA: the beneficiary named on the CUSTODIAN's form takes it, via an inherited IRA opened at that custodian
- Trust-titled account, or an account where Mariner Trust Company serves as trustee or co-trustee: MTC administers under the trust's terms; no probate court is involved
- Life insurance or annuity: the claim is filed with the issuing carrier, on the carrier's claim form
- Individually owned account with no TOD and no trust: a probate asset, released on Letters
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant, executor, or trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (probate accounts)
- Trust agreement and trustee certification (trust-titled accounts)
- The custodian's transfer-of-account / inherited-account claim forms (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing)
- Inherited IRA application (retirement account beneficiaries)
- Affidavit of domicile, where the custodian requires it
- The issuing carrier's claim form (life insurance and annuity policies placed through Mariner Insurance Resources)
- State inheritance-tax waiver, where the decedent's state requires one before securities are released
What to know at this institution
The single most useful thing to know about settling a Mariner relationship is that MARINER DOES NOT HOLD THE MONEY. It is a registered investment advisor (the advisory entity files with the SEC as Mariner, LLC, CRD 140195). Client assets sit with qualified custodians: Mariner's 3/27/2026 Form ADV reports its separately managed account assets held principally at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and National Financial Services LLC (Fidelity), and its brochure names Fidelity, Schwab, and Pershing as the custodians clients are placed with. So the death claim is the CUSTODIAN's process, on the custodian's forms, and Mariner's role is coordination and information — the advisor identifies the accounts, produces date-of-death values, and walks the claim packet through. That is not a formality: Mariner's own Form ADV Part 2A (Item 15) states that it may instruct a custodian to distribute assets by check to the client's name and address of record, but that "all third-party distributions from your custodial account(s) must be signed by you" and that it does NOT have authority to direct the custodian to distribute assets to a third party. A claimant who expects Mariner to release funds will lose weeks. Three other things change the path: an account where Mariner Trust Company, LLC (South Dakota) serves as trustee or co-trustee is administered under the trust, never through probate; insurance and annuities placed through Mariner Insurance Resources are claimed from the ISSUING CARRIER; and because Mariner has grown by acquiring advisory firms (AdvicePeriod, Kummer Financial Strategies, and others), a decedent's statements may still carry an acquired firm's name — it is the same firm, and 800-384-1756 reaches it. Finally, the advisory Agreement does not end at death: it continues until either party terminates it, with fees prorated through the termination date, so an executor decides affirmatively whether to keep or end it.
Expected timelines at Mariner: Mariner publishes no claim timeline, and it is not the party that controls one — the custodian is. In practice the advisor can produce account and date-of-death valuation information within days of receiving the death certificate, while the actual transfer runs on the custodian's clock once its claim packet is submitted in good order. Trust accounts where Mariner Trust Company already serves as trustee or co-trustee move fastest, because no court appointment is needed before anyone has authority to act. Individually owned accounts with no TOD registration wait on the probate court to issue Letters. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by Mariner includes Certified death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant, executor, or trustee, and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (probate accounts), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Mariner is a registered investment advisor, not a bank or a custodian — it manages the assets but does not hold them. Per Mariner's own Form ADV filed 3/27/2026, the qualified custodians holding 10% or more of its separately managed account assets are Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and National Financial Services LLC (the Fidelity clearing entity), and its Part 2A brochure names Fidelity, Schwab, and Pershing as the broker-dealer/custodians clients are placed with. So the death claim is filed with the CUSTODIAN, on the custodian's transfer-of-account or inherited-account forms. Mariner's role is real but different: the advisor identifies every account, tells you which custodian holds each one, produces the date-of-death valuation your estate inventory and step-up in basis calculation depend on, and walks the claim packet through. Start by calling the decedent's advisor or 800-384-1756, and ask which custodian holds each account before you gather anything else.
No, and this is worth understanding before you spend a week trying. Mariner's Form ADV Part 2A (Item 15, March 2026) states that it can instruct the account custodian to distribute assets by check to the client's name and address of record, and — with the client's written permission on file at the custodian — to transfer assets to another account in the client's own name. It then says: "All third-party distributions from your custodial account(s) must be signed by you. We do not have authority to instruct the custodian to distribute assets from your account at the custodian to a third-party." Mariner's discretion is a TRADING authority, not a distribution authority. The practical consequence for a successor: the transfer happens when the custodian receives its own claim paperwork, signed by whoever is entitled to the assets — the TOD beneficiary, the surviving joint owner, the successor trustee, or the executor holding Letters. Mariner coordinates that packet; it cannot substitute for it.
Mariner Trust Company, LLC ("MTC") is a Mariner affiliate: a state-chartered public trust company organized under the laws of South Dakota, subject to the oversight of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. It provides administrative trust services and can serve as trustee or co-trustee under a directed model, where MTC handles administration and regulatory compliance while the Mariner advisor keeps the investment relationship. Assets already titled to a trust — with MTC or an individual serving as trustee — pass under the trust's terms and do not go through probate; that is a function of the trust, not of MTC. What appointing MTC changes is succession: a corporate trustee is already in place and already has authority the moment the grantor dies, so nobody has to be found, appointed, or court-qualified before bills can be paid. Mariner discloses in its Form ADV that it is deemed to have custody of any client account where MTC serves as trustee or co-trustee, and that such accounts are therefore subject to an annual surprise examination by an independent auditor. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions about trust situs and terms.
It does not end automatically. Mariner's brochure states that the Agreement between the firm and a client continues in effect until terminated by either party under its terms, and that the annual fee is prorated through the date of termination, with any remaining balance charged or refunded. Mariner's discretionary trading authority therefore continues to run over the account until someone terminates the Agreement or the custodian restricts the account — which is why an executor or successor trustee notifies the advisor promptly rather than after probate is opened. The decision in front of the estate is a real one: terminate the Agreement and have the custodian transfer the assets out, or keep the relationship in place with the inheriting party as the new client. Neither is automatic, and until one is chosen the account keeps being managed and billed. Insurance and annuity contracts are separate — those claims run to the issuing carrier regardless of what happens to the advisory Agreement.
Mariner's Handled by the decedent's Mariner advisor, who coordinates with the custodian (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing). Mariner has no separate claims department, and the claim itself is filed with the custodian. can be reached by phone at 1-800-384-1756 and fax at 1-913-904-5701 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Mariner investment accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Handled by the decedent's Mariner advisor, who coordinates with the custodian (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing). Mariner has no separate claims department, and the claim itself is filed with the custodian. to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from Mariner primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Mariner Client Services
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
Estate Planning and Trust Services (Mariner Trust Company, LLC)
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
Handled by the decedent's Mariner advisor, who coordinates with the custodian (Charles Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing). Mariner has no separate claims department, and the claim itself is filed with the custodian.
Mariner, 5700 W. 112th Street, Suite 500, Overland Park, KS 66211
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