How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Mariner
Beneficiaries are managed in branch, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken in branch, by phone or by mail
Estate planning for your Mariner investment accounts starts with understanding how each one transfers at death. Beneficiary designations and trust retitling both bypass probate, but the right approach depends on the account type, your tax situation, and how much control you want over distributions.
Mariner has 10 product types, and the estate transfer rules differ across them. Some support Transfer on Death (TOD) designations, some can be retitled into a trust, and others pass through the estate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
No beneficiary form at Mariner
Beneficiaries are named in branch or by phone or by mail.
- Full legal name, relationship, and date of birth
- Social Security number
- Percentage allocation, and whether they are a primary or contingent beneficiary
- For a trust beneficiary: the exact trust name, the date it was established, the trustees, and the trust's tax identification number
- Full legal name, relationship, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, primary or contingent
- For a trust: trust name, date established, trustees, and tax identification number
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name, relationship and date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, and primary or contingent status (for each beneficiary)
- Trust name, date established, trustees and tax identification number (for a trust beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a Mariner office)
- The custodian's beneficiary or TOD designation form, signed. The form belongs to Schwab, Fidelity (National Financial Services) or Pershing. It is returned to the Mariner advisor, who submits it to the custodian
- Trust account application (Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing)
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Authorization to retitle the existing account into the name of the trust
- Full trust agreement, or a trust excerpt (first page, signature pages, and the pages naming the trustees)
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Government-issued photo ID for every trustee
- Trust EIN
Required Documents
- Full trust agreement or trust excerpt. Either is accepted. The excerpt is the first page, the signature pages, and the pages naming the trustees
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee, grantor and beneficial owner)
- Trust EIN
- The custodian's trust account application. The application is Schwab's, Fidelity/National Financial Services' or Pershing's; the advisor sends it and submits it
- Authorization to retitle an existing account into the trust
- Full legal name, relationship, and date of birth
- Social Security number
- Percentage allocation, and whether they are a primary or contingent beneficiary
- For a trust beneficiary: the exact trust name, the date it was established, the trustees, and the trust's tax identification number
- Full legal name, relationship, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, primary or contingent
- For a trust: trust name, date established, trustees, and tax identification number
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name, relationship and date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, and primary or contingent status (for each beneficiary)
- Trust name, date established, trustees and tax identification number (for a trust beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a Mariner office)
- The custodian's beneficiary or TOD designation form, signed. The form belongs to Schwab, Fidelity (National Financial Services) or Pershing. It is returned to the Mariner advisor, who submits it to the custodian
- Full legal name, relationship, and date of birth
- Social Security number
- Percentage allocation, and whether they are a primary or contingent beneficiary
- For a trust beneficiary: the exact trust name, the date it was established, the trustees, and the trust's tax identification number
- Full legal name, relationship, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, primary or contingent
- For a trust: trust name, date established, trustees, and tax identification number
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name, relationship and date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Allocation percentage, and primary or contingent status (for each beneficiary)
- Trust name, date established, trustees and tax identification number (for a trust beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a Mariner office)
- The custodian's beneficiary or TOD designation form, signed. The form belongs to Schwab, Fidelity (National Financial Services) or Pershing. It is returned to the Mariner advisor, who submits it to the custodian
- Trust account application (Schwab, Fidelity/National Financial Services, or Pershing)
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Authorization to retitle the existing account into the name of the trust
- Full trust agreement, or a trust excerpt (first page, signature pages, and the pages naming the trustees)
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Government-issued photo ID for every trustee
- Trust EIN
Required Documents
- Full trust agreement or trust excerpt. Either is accepted. The excerpt is the first page, the signature pages, and the pages naming the trustees
- Trustee certification or certificate/affidavit of trust
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee, grantor and beneficial owner)
- Trust EIN
- The custodian's trust account application. The application is Schwab's, Fidelity/National Financial Services' or Pershing's; the advisor sends it and submits it
- Authorization to retitle an existing account into the trust
What Mariner says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Mariner's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary4
- Investment account
Every designation is the custodian's, not Mariner's. Mariner coordinates; the custodian records and controls it.1
A TOD registration on a taxable account and a beneficiary designation on an IRA are different forms; updating one does not touch the other.1
- IRA
An IRA beneficiary form and a taxable TOD registration are separate documents and do not update each other.1
- Life insurance policy
Insurance beneficiaries are held by the issuing carrier, not by the custodian and not by Mariner.1
- Annuity
Annuity beneficiaries are held by the issuing carrier, not by the custodian and not by Mariner.1
Who can be named1
- A trust
A trust can be named as beneficiary. The custodian's form takes the exact trust name, the date it was established, the trustees, and the trust's tax identification number.1
- A trust, IRAs
A trust can be named as beneficiary on the IRA form.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
The custodian's form takes a percentage allocation for each beneficiary and whether they are a primary or contingent beneficiary.1
What Mariner's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- When a designation takes effect
The change is not effective when Mariner receives it; it is effective when the custodian records it. Confirm it on the custodian's statement.1
Which accounts a trust can hold3
- Investment account
Taxable, joint and separately managed accounts can be retitled into the trust on the custodian's paperwork, with Mariner coordinating. Mariner continues to manage the assets under the trustee's authority.1
- IRA
An IRA cannot be owned by a trust. The trust is named on the IRA beneficiary form instead, if that is the plan.1
- Trust account
The trust can have an individual trustee, with Mariner managing the assets, or Mariner Trust Company, LLC as trustee or co-trustee under its directed model, in which it handles administration and compliance while the Mariner advisor keeps the investment relationship.1
What Mariner says about trust accounts2
- Whether a new account is opened
The trust account is opened at Schwab, Fidelity (National Financial Services) or Pershing; Mariner does not hold it. The retitling is complete when the custodian re-registers the account, which is what the statement shows.1
- Successor trustees
Where Mariner Trust Company, LLC serves as trustee or co-trustee, a corporate trustee is already in place when the grantor dies.1
Accounts handled elsewhere4
- Charles Schwab
Holds Mariner client accounts as custodian; its forms carry the beneficiary or TOD designation and the trust retitling1
- Fidelity (National Financial Services)
Holds Mariner client accounts as custodian; its forms carry the beneficiary or TOD designation and the trust retitling1
- Pershing
Holds Mariner client accounts as custodian; its forms carry the beneficiary or TOD designation and the trust retitling1
- Mariner Trust Company, LLC
Trustee or co-trustee services under a directed model; a South Dakota state-chartered public trust company1
Not in Mariner's published guidance1
- A beneficiary designation form
Sources2
- 1.Mariner advisor guidance on beneficiary designations and trust funding
- 2.Mariner office locations
Sources
Data sourced from Mariner primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Mariner instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Mariner primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Mariner estate support
Estate Planning and Trust Services (Mariner Trust Company, LLC)
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