What to do when an UBS account holder dies
After an account holder at UBS dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact UBS with the proper legal authority documents.
The first step is contacting UBS with the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate in hand.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with UBS:
Filing a claim
Required Documents
- Evidence of a court-appointed fiduciary for the estate, if UBS requests it
- External documentation showing authority to act as successor in interest, if UBS requests it
- Inheritance or estate tax waivers, if UBS requests them
- Federal transfer certificate, if UBS requests one
- Death certificate, for a trust account, if UBS is uncertain of a trustee's authorityUBS lists it with relevant sections of the trust agreement, a resignation or acceptance of trusteeship, documentation of a named trustee's capacity, or a court order.
- Documents establishing the beneficiary's right to the IRA assets, before an IRA beneficiary may establish an inherited IRAThe beneficiary furnishes the instruments and documents UBS requires.
- Proof of a legal representative's authority, for an IRA distribution or assignment, or a trustee's or executor's request to bypass an estate or trust beneficiary of the IRAUBS may also ask for applications, certificates, tax waivers, signature guarantees and other documents it deems necessary.
- Documentation of Eligible Designated Beneficiary status, for an IRA beneficiary who claims to be an Eligible Designated BeneficiaryThe beneficiary may need to provide documentation required by law or UBS procedures.
- Written, notarized disclaimer statement or a court-filed document, for an IRA beneficiary who disclaimsUBS gives its Disclaimer of Beneficial Interest in a Retirement Account form as an example. UBS's terms say it is delivered "within 9 months of the IRA owner's death (or if later, the beneficiary attaining age 21)".
What happens to each kind of account3
- Joint account with survivorship
In a joint account with rights of survivorship, all assets pass to the survivors on the same terms and conditions, without releasing the deceased owner's estate from its liabilities.1
The deceased owner's estate, and the survivors or heirs jointly and severally, remain liable for any debit balance or loss from transactions started before UBS is notified of the death, and for losses while the joint account is liquidated or the survivors' interests are adjusted.1
- IRA
Any part of an IRA the beneficiary designation does not dispose of goes to the owner's surviving spouse, or to the owner's estate if there is no surviving spouse. The last designation UBS accepted before the death controls.1
A beneficiary who has not set up an inherited IRA and completed the transfer of their share, and who does not survive the owner by 120 hours, is treated as having died before the owner.1
- Trust account
If UBS is uncertain of a trustee's authority, it may refrain from acting on the trust account until it is satisfied, and may ask for supporting documents.2
What UBS's agreement and guidance say10
- Telling the institution
Any order the account holder gave remains binding on the account holder and their personal representative until UBS receives notice of the death.1
- What it does when notified
Before or after it receives notice of a death, UBS may take whatever actions it deems advisable to protect itself against tax, liability, penalty or other losses. It may retain a portion of the accounts and restrict transactions in them.1
In the event of the account holder's death, UBS may sell any or all property in the accounts and cancel any open orders without notice.2
- Debts owed to the institution
On the account holder's death, UBS may, to the extent permitted by law, liquidate or hedge open positions, treat obligations owed to it as immediately due and payable, and set off its obligations to the account holder against the account holder's obligations to it.1
- Fees
The estate and the accounts are jointly liable for all costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, that UBS, the card issuer and the check provider incur in disposing of the accounts and related assets and liabilities.1
UBS charges a $25 Legal Transfer Fee for changing the registration of a security in certificate form after events such as the death of the original owner.1
- Disputes between claimants
Before distributing property from a joint account, UBS may recover its costs, including reasonable attorney's fees, arising from a dispute among the joint account holders or from the death of one of them.1
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
Joint account holders, on behalf of themselves, their estates and heirs, agree to indemnify UBS against losses from following the instructions of any one account holder and against taxes owed or third-party claims connected with the joint account.1
- Refusing an inheritance
Once UBS accepts an IRA beneficiary's disclaimer, the beneficiary is treated as if they did not survive the owner. Disclaimers are irrevocable.1
- Payment to a minor or incapacitated beneficiary
If an IRA beneficiary is a minor, UBS procedures may require the court appointment of a guardian for the minor's IRA when the beneficiary designation names no legal guardian.1
- Arbitration
The arbitration agreement in UBS's Client Relationship Agreement binds the client's heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.2
- Accounts from a merged institution
UBS announced on March 18, 2026 that it had completed the migration of all former Credit Suisse clients to UBS infrastructure globally.3
Not in UBS's published guidance4
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- A claim form
- A mailing address for claim documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Sources3
- 1.Agreements and disclosures, © UBS 2026 (2026-2411950)
- 2.UBS Client Relationship Agreement, Rev. 06/26
- 3.UBS successfully completes the client migration in Switzerland – another key milestone in the integration journey, 18 Mar 2026
Frequently asked questions
Under UBS's Agreements and Disclosures, any part of the IRA your designation does not dispose of goes to your surviving spouse, and if you have no surviving spouse, to your estate. The last designation UBS accepted before your death controls, whether or not it disposes of all of the IRA, and a divorce automatically revokes a designation of the former spouse.
UBS's Agreements and Disclosures state that UBS must be notified immediately of a death, and that before or after that notice UBS may take whatever actions it deems advisable to protect itself against tax, liability, penalty or other losses. UBS may require the survivors, heirs or estate to provide documents such as inheritance or estate tax waivers, evidence of a court-appointed fiduciary for the estate, documentation of authority to act as successor in interest, and federal transfer certificates, and it may retain a portion of the accounts and restrict transactions in them.
In a joint account with rights of survivorship, all assets pass to the survivors on the same terms, without releasing the decedent's estate from its liabilities. The estate, and the survivors or heirs jointly and severally, remain liable for any debit balance or loss from transactions initiated before UBS receives notification of the death, and for losses during liquidation of the joint account or adjustment of the survivors' interests.
Sources
Data sourced from UBS primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
UBS death claims support
Website
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