Client Account Maintenance
TOD & IRA Beneficiaries
Adding a TOD or Naming Your IRA Beneficiaries
Making sure your accounts pass directly to the people you choose — without probate. Two short procedures for your Interactive Brokers accounts: a Transfer on Death (TOD) registration for individually held brokerage accounts, and beneficiary designations for Traditional and Roth IRAs.
These forms override your will. The account passes to whoever is named on the designation — full stop. An out-of-date beneficiary form is the most common, and most avoidable, estate mistake we see. Review yours after every marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family.
Part 1 · IRA Beneficiaries (Traditional & Roth)
1Decide before you log in. Choose your primary beneficiaries (percentages must total 100%) and your contingent beneficiaries — who inherits if a primary predeceases you. Have full legal names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers ready. Want a deceased child’s share to pass to their children? That is a per stirpes election — tell us, it is worth a conversation.
2Submit the designation. Log in to IBKR Client Portal → Settings → Account Settings → Beneficiaries for your IRA — or ask us and we will prepare it with you. Married and naming someone other than your spouse as primary? Expect a spousal-consent signature.
3Sign properly — this part is strict. Interactive Brokers requires the IRA beneficiary designation to be notarized (a medallion signature guarantee also works, though IBKR itself does not issue medallion stamps). An un-notarized form changes nothing.
4Confirm and file. Once processed, the designation shows in your Client Portal. Send us a copy — we keep it with your plan and re-check it at every review.
Part 2 · TOD Registration (Individual Brokerage Accounts)
1Request the registration. In Client Portal → Settings, request Transfer on Death registration and name your beneficiaries and their percentages. IBKR generates a TOD Registration Form & Agreement for you.
2Sign and return the agreement. The registration is not effective until IBKR receives and approves the signed agreement. Once approved, your account title is amended (for example, “Jane Doe, TOD”) and your statements will reflect it.
3Know the boundaries. TOD fits individually held taxable accounts. Joint accounts with rights of survivorship pass to the co-owner first. Accounts titled to a trust should never carry a TOD — the trust document controls. You can change or revoke a TOD online any time; a revocation is effective only once IBKR approves it.
For your family, when the time comes: beneficiaries contact IBKR Estate Processing (estateprocessing@interactivebrokers.com) with a certified death certificate, a government ID, and IBKR’s Non-Probated Estate Action Form — but their real first call should be to us. We shepherd the entire process so your family never faces it alone.
Not sure how your accounts are titled today, or whether your designations still match your wishes? That review takes fifteen minutes with us — and can save your family months.
Mountain View Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser; advisory services are offered only where the firm and its representatives are registered, licensed, or exempt. This document is informational and educational only — it is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Beneficiary designations and TOD registrations have important estate, tax, and family-law consequences; consult your attorney, especially for trusts, blended families, or minor beneficiaries. Interactive Brokers LLC is an independent, unaffiliated custodian; its procedures and forms may change without notice — verify before submitting. TOD availability is subject to state law.