Estate planning at Baird
How to protect 17 Baird accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Baird's Baird Trust Company
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, P.O. Box 0672, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0672
Baird Trust Company
Baird Trust Company, 500 W. Jefferson St., Suite 2600, Louisville, KY 40202
Estate Settlement (via Financial Advisor)
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, P.O. Box 0672, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0672
Baird offers 17 consumer investment accounts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 14 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Understanding the transfer methods available for each account type helps families keep assets out of probate and ensure they pass to the right people.
Beneficiary designations at Baird can be managed in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking a few days to process after forms are received. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle brokerage accounts into a trust.
Baird provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 17 account types at Baird.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Baird's Baird Trust Company to file a claim. 6-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →For questions about any of these procedures, contact Baird's Baird Trust Company at 888-878-7845. Email inquiries can be sent to BairdTrust-Info@rwbaird.com.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Individual brokerage, joint brokerage, advisory, and Baird Cash Management accounts can be retitled into a revocable living trust. Baird does not offer an online retitling path; contact your Baird Financial Advisor, who will open a new trust-registered account or change the registration on an existing account. You will need the trust document (first page and signature pages) or a Certification of Trust, government-issued ID for all trustees, and the trust tax identification number. IRAs and 529 plans cannot be retitled to a trust, but a trust can be named as their beneficiary.
Sources
Data sourced from Baird primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, P.O. Box 0672, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0672
Baird Trust Company
Baird Trust Company, 500 W. Jefferson St., Suite 2600, Louisville, KY 40202
Estate Settlement (via Financial Advisor)
Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, P.O. Box 0672, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0672
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Baird accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
