How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Oppenheimer
Covers 8 investment, 7 retirement, and 1 hsa accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
Oppenheimer Helpdesk
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
Oppenheimer Trust Company of Delaware
Oppenheimer Trust Company of Delaware, 3411 Silverside Road, Tatnall Building, Suite 105, Wilmington, DE 19810
Oppenheimer Helpdesk (routes to the Financial Professional servicing the account)
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
Estate planning for your Oppenheimer 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.
Oppenheimer has 16 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 will require probate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- TOD registration fees, from the Brokerage Relationship and Disclosure Guide fee schedule: $50 initial set-up, $25 per request to change beneficiaries, and $25 per designated beneficiary for the distribution upon death.
- A trust can be named as the TOD beneficiary of a brokerage account or as the beneficiary of a retirement account. Naming a NON-QUALIFIED trust as IRA beneficiary makes it a non-person beneficiary, which Oppenheimer's IRA Beneficiary Distribution Options guide warns can limit the payout to five years.
- A trust or the estate as HSA beneficiary destroys the HSA's tax status at death (IRS Publication 969) — name a person, and a spouse if you have one.
- TOD and beneficiary designations on the account control over anything a will or trust says. The form on file at Oppenheimer wins.
- A married Individual 401(k) participant's spouse is the default beneficiary under federal law; a non-spouse designation requires the spouse's written consent.
- Oppenheimer does not offer online beneficiary self-service — every designation goes through a signed paper form via the Financial Professional.
Sources
Data sourced from Oppenheimer primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Oppenheimer instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Oppenheimer primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Oppenheimer Helpdesk
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
Oppenheimer Trust Company of Delaware
Oppenheimer Trust Company of Delaware, 3411 Silverside Road, Tatnall Building, Suite 105, Wilmington, DE 19810
Oppenheimer Helpdesk (routes to the Financial Professional servicing the account)
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc., 85 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004
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