How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to TradeStation?

Send it to TradeStation's estate/claims department: TradeStation Securities Inc, Attn: Account Services, 8050 SW 10th Street, Suite 2000, Plantation, FL 33324. You can reach the department at (954) 652-7900.

Yes — TradeStation requires the mailed letter of instruction to be notarized. The prepared letter includes a signature block; have it notarized before sending.

TradeStation lists these among its required documents: Written notice of the death (required by Section 39 of the Customer Account Agreement, Rev 06-27-24); Certified death certificate with raised seal; Government-issued ID for the beneficiary or executor; Beneficiary's social security number, address, and date of birth. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from TradeStation's recorded requirements.

TradeStation publishes no service-level commitment for a death claim. The practical gating items are the ones Section 39 lets it demand: a state inheritance or estate tax waiver, or -- for a non-resident-alien decedent -- an IRS federal transfer certificate (Form 5173), which routinely takes months. Contested or unclear beneficiary designations can take longer still, because the Transfer on Death Account Agreement lets TradeStation require legal adjudication before it distributes.

TradeStation accepts a letter you write. We draft it for you, addressed to TradeStation's verified claims department with the required enclosures.

It depends on the capacity you are acting in. An executor or administrator encloses Letters Testamentary (when there is a will) or Letters of Administration (when there is not); a successor trustee encloses a certificate of trust; a successor under a small estate encloses that state’s small estate affidavit. The prepared letter lists the proof-of-authority document for your role alongside the institution’s required documents.

A letter of instruction is the written request an institution asks for when settling a deceased customer’s account. It identifies the decedent and the account, states the capacity you are acting in, and tells the institution what to do with the account.