Estate planning at Northern Trust
How to protect 18 Northern Trust accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Northern Trust's Wealth Management — Trust and Estate Services (Estate Settlement Services)
Client Services (banking, investments, online services)
The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Wealth Management — Trust and Estate Services (Estate Settlement Services)
The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Estate Settlement Services (Northern Trust accounts) / Northern Funds Center (mutual fund accounts)
Northern Trust bank, brokerage, and wealth-management accounts: The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603. Northern Funds mutual-fund accounts: Northern Funds, P.O. Box 75986, Chicago, IL 60675-5986 (overnight: Northern Funds, 333 South Wabash Avenue, Dept. W-38, Chicago, IL 60604; fax 312-557-0411). Mortgage servicing error notices and requests for information: The Northern Trust Company, P.O. Box 92992, Chicago, IL 60675.
Northern Trust has 18 accounts, each with different rules for what happens when the account holder dies. Of those, 16 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. The right combination of beneficiary designations and trust ownership can keep the entire portfolio out of probate.
Beneficiary designations at Northern Trust can be managed in branch and by mail, typically taking northern Trust does not publish a processing time. The Northern Funds Center (800-595-9111) confirms receipt of a mailed or faxed form.. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle accounts into the name of a revocable living trust.
There are two sides to estate planning at Northern Trust: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 18 account types at Northern Trust.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Northern Trust's Wealth Management — Trust and Estate Services (Estate Settlement Services) to file a claim. 6-step process, 9 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Reach Northern Trust's Wealth Management — Trust and Estate Services (Estate Settlement Services) at 1-800-388-5316 for help with any of these procedures.
Because Northern Trust serves a limited number of states, procedures for trust funding and beneficiary changes may differ depending on your location. Verify availability before starting.
Frequently asked questions
No. BNY approached Northern Trust about a merger in June 2025, and Northern Trust publicly stated that it is committed to remaining independent. No offer was accepted, no definitive agreement was signed, and no transaction has closed. As of July 2026 Northern Trust Corporation still files with the SEC as a standalone Nasdaq registrant (NTRS) — a Q1 2026 10-Q, an 11-K in June 2026, and routine insider filings in July 2026, with no merger filing on record. For an executor or trustee this means nothing changes: accounts, trust appointments, and the Estate Settlement Services group continue under The Northern Trust Company as before.
Yes, and this is the specific gap it fills. Northern Trust's Real Estate and Agricultural Services and Energy and Minerals Management teams serve as trustee or executor for residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate and for oil, gas, and mineral rights, and its Family Business Services group serves as trustee or executor to manage private business interests and advise on corporate governance and succession. The work is done by in-house certified property managers, licensed architects, landmen, petroleum engineers, and accredited farm managers. These are exactly the assets that stall an ordinary estate: the individual executor is a family member with a day job who cannot negotiate a lease, sign an operating agreement, or manage a crop cycle for the eighteen months the administration takes.
Sources
Data sourced from Northern Trust primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
Client Services (banking, investments, online services)
The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Wealth Management — Trust and Estate Services (Estate Settlement Services)
The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Estate Settlement Services (Northern Trust accounts) / Northern Funds Center (mutual fund accounts)
Northern Trust bank, brokerage, and wealth-management accounts: The Northern Trust Company, 50 South La Salle Street, Chicago, IL 60603. Northern Funds mutual-fund accounts: Northern Funds, P.O. Box 75986, Chicago, IL 60675-5986 (overnight: Northern Funds, 333 South Wabash Avenue, Dept. W-38, Chicago, IL 60604; fax 312-557-0411). Mortgage servicing error notices and requests for information: The Northern Trust Company, P.O. Box 92992, Chicago, IL 60675.
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Northern Trust accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
