What to do when a Robinhood account holder dies
Contact Robinhood — 4-step process, 5 required documents, and robinhood publishes no service-level timeline. an estate representative is assigned after the estates form is submitted and coordinates the rest of the process.
Robinhood Support
Robinhood, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Robinhood Support
Robinhood, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Estates Team
When an account holder at Robinhood passes away, the next step depends on how the investment accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Robinhood's Estates Team to access and distribute the funds.
Robinhood provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Robinhood requires:
Filing a claim
- Open the Robinhood Estates form -- no sign-in is required
- Give the deceased's full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death
- Give your name, contact information, date of birth, and relationship to the deceased
- A photo or copy of the death certificate with all 4 corners visible and the seal (if any) showing
- A photo or copy of the front and back of your government-issued ID
- Do NOT send wills, trusts, or other estate planning documents. Robinhood requests specific documents only after its initial review
- A Robinhood estate representative contacts you after the form is submitted
- TOD beneficiaries and IRA beneficiaries claim directly -- they generally must open their own Robinhood account to receive the assets, and an IRA beneficiary who is not a spouse must open an Inherited IRA with Robinhood
- With no TOD designation, the brokerage assets pass through the estate; crypto and futures always pass through the estate regardless of any designation
- Margin and other indebtedness must be satisfied before any transfer, and Robinhood may liquidate positions of its choosing without beneficiary consent (section 4)
- The estate is liable for any net debit balance from transactions initiated before Robinhood receives written notice of the death (section 4)
- Cost basis is NOT displayed to a beneficiary and the account carries over the decedent's basis: a beneficiary who needs the stepped-up basis must affirmatively request it from Robinhood (section 4)
- A beneficiary who survives the owner by at least 120 hours but dies before the transfer completes takes through their own estate (section 3(c))
- Securities that cannot be divided evenly are liquidated and the proceeds split (section 5)
- Robinhood may refuse to distribute where it sees a dispute or doubts the validity of the designation (section 4)
Required Documents
- Death certificate -- photo or copy with all 4 corners visible and the seal showing
- Claimant's government-issued photo ID (front and back)
- Deceased's full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death
- For a trust named as beneficiary: the trust instrument or a certification of trust acceptable to Robinhood, plus the trust's Tax Identification Number, and evidence of the trustee's authority if requested
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration for assets passing through the estate (crypto, futures, or an account with no TOD designation) -- send only when Robinhood requests them
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Robinhood is app-only: there is no branch, and Robinhood does not publish an estates phone line. The Estates form is the front door. The 888-275-8523 line handles only Robinhood Crypto, Spending, and Cash Card issues, and 650-761-7789 is a general-information line that cannot take account-specific questions. Because Robinhood explicitly asks claimants NOT to send wills, trusts, or estate documents up front, a mailed letter of instruction is the wrong channel here.
Processing timelines at Robinhood: Robinhood publishes no service-level timeline. An estate representative is assigned after the Estates form is submitted and coordinates the rest of the process. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by Robinhood includes Death certificate -- photo or copy with all 4 corners visible and the seal showing, Claimant's government-issued photo ID (front and back), and Deceased's full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
It goes through the estate. Crypto is held by Robinhood Crypto, LLC -- a different entity from the broker-dealer -- and is expressly excluded from Transfer on Death registration by section 2 of the Transfer on Death Beneficiary Agreement: "Cryptocurrency offered through Robinhood Crypto LLC is not eligible for TOD Account registration." The Beneficiaries help article says the same thing, adding that Robinhood is working to include crypto in the beneficiary process. So a Robinhood customer can have a fully designated TOD brokerage account whose stocks pass outside probate while the crypto in the same app still requires Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Crypto held through Robinhood Crypto is also neither FDIC insured nor SIPC protected, so there is no investor-protection backstop if the platform fails.
Robinhood's own two primary sources disagree, so verify in the app before relying on either. The Beneficiaries help article says custom allocations are "not yet" supported -- assets are split evenly across up to 10 named beneficiaries, rounded to whole percentages (34/33/33) -- and that Robinhood does not offer contingent beneficiaries. The Transfer on Death Beneficiary Agreement dated May 29, 2026 does define Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries and repeatedly refers to "the percentages the Account Owner designated." Either way, several limits are firm: no per stirpes distribution, no unborn or successor beneficiaries, no estates or charities as beneficiaries, and a beneficiary who is a minor when the owner dies is treated as having predeceased them.
A TOD beneficiary can generally receive the securities, cash, and options contracts in the account and must open their own Robinhood account to take them; from there they may hold, ACATS-transfer to another brokerage, or liquidate. Two things reduce what arrives. First, margin and other indebtedness must be satisfied before any transfer, and Robinhood may liquidate positions of its choosing without beneficiary consent to do so; the estate is liable for any net debit balance from transactions initiated before Robinhood receives written notice of the death. Second, cost basis is not shown to the beneficiary and the account carries over the decedent's basis -- a beneficiary who needs the stepped-up basis must affirmatively request it from Robinhood. Options that cannot be split among multiple beneficiaries may be closed before proceeds transfer, and securities that cannot be divided evenly are liquidated.
No. Robinhood does not offer TOD registration to Louisiana residents, and the effect is stronger than a sign-up block: under section 2 of the Transfer on Death Beneficiary Agreement, a TOD registration is VOID where the account owner resides in Louisiana at the time of death, and the assets are paid to the estate instead. A customer who registered TOD while living elsewhere and later moved to Louisiana loses the registration on death. Robinhood also states it will not advise an account owner on whether a TOD registration remains valid after a change of residence. If a Louisiana customer no longer lives there and still cannot add a beneficiary, the residential address on the account needs to be updated first.
If the deceased held multiple Robinhood investment accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Estates Team can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Robinhood primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
Robinhood Support
Robinhood, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Robinhood Support
Robinhood, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Estates Team
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