What to do when a Merrill account holder dies

Completed by each named TOD beneficiary. Available to download. Must be notarized.¹

Available to download. Must be notarized.²

Completed by all executors or administrators. Available to download.³

Completed by all current trustees. Available to download.⁴

A transfer on death account must be closed: Merrill cannot remove or add a name or liquidate assets inside it. Fractional or odd shares are liquidated and the proceeds divided equally, and nothing is distributed until a letter of authorization for each beneficiary is on file.¹

The agreement provides for no contingent or successor beneficiaries. If the owner checked neither box, or named one beneficiary, a share left to a beneficiary who died first passes to the owner's estate.⁵

Limited partnerships not held in street name, mutual fund shares held at the fund, commodities and restricted or Rule 144 stock do not pass under the agreement and may have to be probated.⁵

To remove a deceased joint owner, Merrill usually requires a death certificate, an Affidavit of Domicile and a letter of authorization. If the two owners were not married, the surviving owner may be required to open a new account to retain the assets.⁶

Unless the account holders agreed otherwise in writing to Merrill, a joint account with right of survivorship vests a deceased holder's interest in the surviving holders.³

A joint account without right of survivorship, such as tenants in common, entitles the deceased holder's estate and the surviving holders to equal shares, unless they agreed otherwise in writing to Merrill.³

Merrill's policy is that the deceased person's retirement account be depleted by the end of the year following the death. A spousal rollover requires a legally married spouse; a domestic partner or civil union partner does not qualify.⁶

With no designated beneficiary, the IRA typically defaults to the surviving spouse and, if there is none, to the account owner's estate.⁶

If a trustee dies, a new Trustee Certification Form must be provided unless the trustees initialed section 7, and supporting documentation such as a death certificate is required to remove a trustee's name from the account.⁴

Merrill requires a waiver for every type of account in the deceased person's name: sole, joint, tenancy-in-common, TOD, and IRA or other retirement accounts.⁶

Where an account passes to Class A transferees, Form L-8 may generally be used and is filed directly with the brokerage firm. An L-8 may not be used where the beneficiary is a trust, even if all the trust's beneficiaries are Class A.⁶

A tax waiver is required when assets are transferred to TOD beneficiaries, but not when the named TOD beneficiary is the surviving spouse.⁶

If the deceased resident held securities issued by corporations incorporated in Rhode Island, a waiver is required for every type of account. It is not needed to transfer to a surviving JTWROS tenant when the account value is less than $1,000.⁶

The deceased person's Bank of America accounts⁷

Bank of America Private Bank accounts⁷

For a transfer on death account, sales after the death are reported under the deceased person's Social Security number, and Merrill's final tax reporting statement for the deceased person does not provide a step-up in basis for the assets sold.⁵

A purchase or sale in a trust account using a deceased person's Social Security number is reported to the IRS under that number, and the year-end tax reporting statement does not provide a step-up in basis for the assets sold.⁴

On the death of a joint account holder, the surviving holders must immediately give Merrill written notice, and Merrill may require documents or restrict the account as it deems necessary.³

Obligations owed to Merrill or its affiliates and secured by a transfer on death account are repaid in full before any assets transfer to the beneficiaries. A secured lender on a Loan Management Account can demand full repayment and instruct Merrill to liquidate account assets.⁵

On a margin account, the account holder's death lets Merrill sell securities and other property in the holder's accounts, cancel open orders and close outstanding contracts, without further demand or notice.³

If claimants dispute a transfer on death account, or Merrill has instructions from fewer than all named beneficiaries, Merrill may restrict the account, require the parties to adjudicate their rights, or file an interpleader at the beneficiaries' expense.⁵

The Transfer on Death Agreement is governed by New Jersey law, including for Indiana residents.⁵

A power of attorney is no longer valid on the death of the person. The agent no longer has access to the deceased person's assets or online access to the accounts.⁶

Merrill releases account-specific information once valid authority is established through additional documents; authority includes a joint holder, an IRA or TOD beneficiary, an executor or administrator, a trustee, a custodian or a participant.⁶

Merrill updates cost basis at the account holder's request once the holdings have fully transferred under the new Social Security or tax identification number.⁶