How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Wealthfront
Beneficiaries are managed online. Trust paperwork is taken online
Preparing your Wealthfront investment accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
Across 12 product types, Wealthfront investment accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Transfer on Death (TOD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
Beneficiary form at Wealthfront
Spousal Consent Form.
- Tap the person icon, then tap Accounts
- Select the name of the account to designate a beneficiary for
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
- Log in at www.wealthfront.com
- Click your name at the top right of the dashboard, then select Settings
- Select the account name under "MY ACCOUNTS"
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
Required Documents
- Spousal Consent Form, completed by the spouse (in a community property state, to name a primary beneficiary other than the spouse). Completed by the spouse in the presence of a witness and uploaded on the Taxes & Documents page. Each form applies to one beneficiary designation on a single account
- Review or edit the tax level for the trust account during setup; it can also be changed later with "edit portfolio" on the account dashboard (not supported on Automated Bond Portfolio Accounts)
- An external trust brokerage account can be transferred in to a Trust Automated Investing Account
- Transfers between Trust Cash Accounts and Automated Trust Investing Accounts are supported where the trusts' TINs are the same
- Transfers between a Trust account and the primary trustee's other Wealthfront accounts are supported when the trust account's TIN matches the primary trustee's SSN
- Tap the person icon, then tap Accounts
- Select the name of the account to designate a beneficiary for
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
- Log in at www.wealthfront.com
- Click your name at the top right of the dashboard, then select Settings
- Select the account name under "MY ACCOUNTS"
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
Required Documents
- Spousal Consent Form, completed by the spouse (in a community property state, to name a primary beneficiary other than the spouse). Completed by the spouse in the presence of a witness and uploaded on the Taxes & Documents page. Each form applies to one beneficiary designation on a single account
- Review or edit the tax level for the trust account during setup; it can also be changed later with "edit portfolio" on the account dashboard (not supported on Automated Bond Portfolio Accounts)
- An external trust brokerage account can be transferred in to a Trust Automated Investing Account
- Transfers between Trust Cash Accounts and Automated Trust Investing Accounts are supported where the trusts' TINs are the same
- Transfers between a Trust account and the primary trustee's other Wealthfront accounts are supported when the trust account's TIN matches the primary trustee's SSN
- Tap the person icon, then tap Accounts
- Select the name of the account to designate a beneficiary for
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
- Log in at www.wealthfront.com
- Click your name at the top right of the dashboard, then select Settings
- Select the account name under "MY ACCOUNTS"
- Scroll down to Primary Beneficiaries and Contingent Beneficiaries to make changes
Required Documents
- Spousal Consent Form, completed by the spouse (in a community property state, to name a primary beneficiary other than the spouse). Completed by the spouse in the presence of a witness and uploaded on the Taxes & Documents page. Each form applies to one beneficiary designation on a single account
What Wealthfront says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Wealthfront's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
Primary and contingent beneficiaries can be named for each account.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
Residents of community property states (Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin) need their spouse's consent to name any primary beneficiary other than the spouse.2
The spouse completes the Spousal Consent Form in the presence of a witness, and it is uploaded on the Taxes & Documents page. Each form applies to one beneficiary designation on a single account.2
Beneficiary forms Wealthfront issues1
- Spousal Consent Form
Completed by the spouse, in the presence of a witness. Completed online.2
What Wealthfront's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- Whether a new account is opened
A new account created by an ownership change requires its beneficiaries to be assigned again.3
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Trust account
Trust registrations are offered for Cash Accounts, Automated Index Investing Accounts, Automated Bond Portfolios, Automated Bond Ladders, S&P 500 Direct and Nasdaq-100 Direct.4
Stock Investing Accounts and IRAs have no trust registration.4
In-kind transfers of securities between Wealthfront accounts with different owners are not supported.5
What Wealthfront says about trust accounts3
- Whether a new account is opened
Changing an existing account to trust ownership is not available. A new Trust account is opened.3
- Online access
A trust account is accessed only through the primary trustee's login (the person who opened it). Secondary trustees can obtain view-only access to the balance by linking the account to their own dashboard.6
Wealthfront Advisers' Form ADV suggests a separate login and profile for a trust, using a different email account.7
- Checks and cards on a trust account
Trust Cash Accounts do not include checking features such as a debit card.8
Not in Wealthfront's published guidance1
- Which trust documents it accepts
Sources8
- 1.How do I add or change a beneficiary to my Wealthfront accounts?
- 2.Do I need my spouse's consent to designate a primary beneficiary other than my spouse?
- 3.How do I change an individual investing account into a joint or trust account?
- 4.What types of accounts does Wealthfront currently support?
- 5.Transfers between Wealthfront Accounts
- 6.How can the secondary trustee(s) access our trust account?
- 7.Wealthfront Advisers Form ADV
- 8.What is the Wealthfront Cash Account?
Sources
Data sourced from Wealthfront primary sources (32 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Wealthfront instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Wealthfront primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Wealthfront estate support
Client Services
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Estate requests go through general customer service.
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