How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Merrill
Covers 9 investment, and 5 retirement accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
Merrill Edge Client Services
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
Merrill Life Services
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
Merrill Life Services (Transition Specialist team)
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
Preparing your Merrill investment accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
Across 14 product types, Merrill investment accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Transfer on Death (TOD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
- Brokerage / CMA / Merrill Edge / Guided Investing: Transfer on Death Agreement (Retail Accounts)
- IRA, IRRA, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, 403(b), HSA, Archer MSA, MLESA: Beneficiary Designation Form
- 529 accounts: 529 College Savings Plan Change of Beneficiary form
- Individuals: legal name, date of birth, relationship, address, share
- A minor beneficiary must have a named UTMA custodian or a court-appointed guardian or conservator listed on the form
- A trust beneficiary must already exist at signing, and ALL current trustees must be listed. A testamentary trust cannot be named
- Do not send a copy of the will or trust with the form — Merrill will not read or monitor it
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- No Medallion Signature Guarantee is required on any Merrill beneficiary or TOD form. Notarization is what Merrill requires, and only in specific places
- NOTARIZED SPOUSAL CONSENT on the TOD Agreement is required when all of these are true: the owner has a living spouse who is not an account owner; the owner and spouse reside or have resided during the marriage in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin; and the spouse is not the sole beneficiary. Merrill may refuse to accept the agreement, or refuse to transfer the assets after death, if that consent was required and never received
- California notaries must use the California acknowledgment block printed on the form
- The brokerage TOD Agreement allows NO contingent or successor beneficiaries and will not be honored if a per stirpes designation is listed. The retirement Beneficiary Designation Form allows contingent beneficiaries and a per stirpes or per capita election
- If a TOD beneficiary dies first and the owner did not elect to redistribute that share among the surviving beneficiaries, the share passes to the owner's estate. The same default applies whenever only one beneficiary is named
- A TOD Agreement may NOT be executed by an agent under a power of attorney. A guardian, conservator, or agent under a durable POA can only change beneficiaries by presenting a certified court order authorizing it
- Only a trust already in existence at signing can be a TOD beneficiary; a testamentary trust cannot. All current trustees must be listed
- Retirement designations reading "as per will" or "as per trust" are treated as invalid
- TOD is not offered to residents of Louisiana or Puerto Rico. It is offered in every other state plus DC, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Not TOD-eligible: Tenants in Common, Joint Tenants - Community Property (non-survivorship), trust accounts, UTMA/UGMA custodial accounts, retirement accounts, and 529 accounts
- IRAs cannot be retitled to a trust; a trust may only be named as beneficiary
- A TOD Agreement supersedes the owner's will and trust for the assets in that account, regardless of which document was signed later
Sources
Data sourced from Merrill primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Merrill instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Merrill primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Merrill Edge Client Services
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
Merrill Life Services
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
Merrill Life Services (Transition Specialist team)
Merrill Document Processing, PO Box 31024, Tampa, FL 33631-3024
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