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1. Contact Folio by phone or email as soon as you become aware of the death of an account holder.

   To initiate a death claim, you must first:

   1. Provide us with a complete copy of the decedent’s death certificate (front and back) via email or fax. (We do not require an original death certificate).
   2. Reference the account number in the body of the email.
   3. Read the information below and follow the additional instructions that apply to each account type.

2. Once we receive notice of the death of an account holder, the following actions will occur:

   1. We will completely restrict the following account types that were owned by the decedent: IRA, individual, or custodial accounts where the deceased is the beneficiary. We will not restrict joint accounts on the death of only one of the account holders.

3. To distribute account assets, we require the following:

   1. If the inherited account is still invested and being moved internally to multiple accounts, we may require a breakdown of the quantity of shares to be transferred to each account.
   2. Inherited accounts that are distributed directly from the decedent’s account will be payable to, and mailed directly to, the designated beneficiary or estate executor. We will not process transfers between firms directly from a decedent’s account.

1. Any distribution processed after the date of death will be reported on Form 1099-R in the name of the beneficiary, with the exception of Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) transactions. If there are multiple beneficiaries, the distributed amount reported will coincide with their inherited percentage.
2. For spousal beneficiary IRAs, non-spouse beneficiary IRAs, and trust beneficiary IRAs, if date of death is in the current year and the current year RMD was not satisfied prior to death, the distribution may be entered online after the assets are moved into the beneficiary IRA. A Form 1099-R will be uploaded to the Statements and Tax Records section of the account for this distribution.

After inherited IRA assets are moved to a beneficiary IRA, the beneficiary may only move funds by means of transfer (please contact the receiving firm to initiate this process).

IRA — Spousal Beneficiary

As a spousal beneficiary, you may transfer the assets into a beneficiary IRA at Folio or into an IRA of your own.

For a beneficiary IRA, we require you to:

1. Open an IRA rollover account
2. Complete a Beneficiary IRA Amendment form
3. Submit an Internal Account Transfer form

For your own IRA, we require you to:

1. Open a Traditional (or Roth, if applicable) IRA
2. Submit an Internal Account Transfer form^*

^* If the account holder has reached the age of 70½ by the year of death, their current year RMD must be taken prior to transferring to an IRA of your own. In addition to the items above, an IRA Distribution Form will need to be submitted for the RMD amount.

IRA — Non-spousal Beneficiary

As a non-spousal beneficiary of an IRA, we require the following:

1. Open an IRA Rollover (or Roth, if applicable) account
2. Complete and submit a Beneficiary IRA Amendment Form
3. Complete and submit an Internal Account Transfer Form

^* Current year RMDs, if not previously satisfied by the deceased account holder, must be taken by the beneficiary IRAs after the transfer of funds has taken place.

IRA — Trust Beneficiary

In order to process the transfer of funds to the trust beneficiary IRA, we require the following:

1. The trustee must open an IRA rollover (or Roth, if applicable) account using their own name and Social Security Number (SSN)
2. Additional forms required:
1. A Beneficiary IRA Amendment Form
2. A Trustee Certification Form (please review Notarization or Signature Guarantee instructions in the ?Certification? portion of the form)
3. An Internal Account Transfer Form

We will also need the following information (via email or fax):

• Is the trust valid under state law?
• Is the trust irrevocable or did it become irrevocable upon the owner?s death?
• Is the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) of the trust an individual? If so, please provide the names and dates of birth of all beneficiaries.

IRA — No Beneficiary or Estate Beneficiary

If there were no named beneficiaries designated on the IRA, or the estate was named the beneficiary, then the funds must be made payable to the estate. We do not manage estate beneficiary IRAs. Funds must be paid out via check.

If an estate has been formed:

1. Submit Letters of Testamentary/Administration (see court or legal documents).
2. Submit a signed Letter of Instruction (LOI) that includes where a check payable to the estate can be mailed.
3. Provide the TIN (Tax ID #) of the estate (can be included on LOI).

If no estate has been formed:

1. Submit executed court documents verifying to whom the assets may be paid.
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where the check should be mailed.

IRA — Charitable or Business Beneficiary

We do not manage Beneficiary IRAs for charities or business entities. Funds are paid out via check. A Form 1099-R for the distribution will be mailed to the address provided in the LOI.

1. Charity - Submit a signed, notarized (or signature guaranteed, if applicable) LOI from the charity on letterhead that includes the charity?s TIN/EIN and mailing address.
2. Business Entity - Submit a signed, notarized (or signature guaranteed, if applicable) LOI from the business on their letterhead that includes the business TIN/EIN and mailing address.

Individual Account with Designated TOD (Transfer on Death) Beneficiary

Named beneficiaries on the account must submit the following to process the claim:

1. Copy of death certificate
2. Signed LOI to pay the named percentage of the account to the beneficiary (must be signed and include address)

OR

1. Copy of death certificate
2. Request a transfer to an existing taxable account at Folio using an Internal Account Transfer form

Individual Account with No Designated TOD (Transfer on Death) Beneficiaries —OR— Estate Beneficiary

If there are no TOD beneficiaries on this account, or the deceased?s estate was the named beneficiary; the funds will be paid to the estate, if one has been formed.

If an estate has been formed:

1. Submit Letters of Testamentary/Administration (see court or legal documents).
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where a check payable to the estate should be mailed.

If no estate has been formed:

1. Submit executed court documents verifying to whom the assets should be paid.
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where the check should be mailed.

Joint Account with Rights of Survivorship

As joint owner of this account type, there are two options:

1. Open an Individual (or Joint, if there were more than two owners) account and then request a transfer of assets using our Internal Account Transfer Form.

OR

2. Request the liquidation and closure of the joint account, with check made payable to remaining account owner(s).

Joint Account Tenants by Entirety

As a spousal joint owner of this account type, you have two options:

1. Open an Individual (or Joint, if there were more than 2 owners) account and then request a transfer of assets using our Internal Transfer Form.

OR

2. Request the liquidation and closure of the Joint account, with check made payable to remaining account owner(s).

Joint Account Tenants in Common

The decedent’s share of this account will be the property of their estate.

If an estate has been formed:

1. Submit Letters of Testamentary/Administration (see court or legal documents].
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where a check made payable to the estate should be mailed.

If no estate has been formed:

1. Submit executed court documents verifying to whom the assets may be paid.
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where the check should be mailed.

Joint Account Community Property

The deceased’s share of this account will be the property of their estate.

If an estate has been formed:

1. Submit Letters of Testamentary/Administration (see court or legal documents).
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where a check made payable to the estate should be mailed.

If no estate has been formed:

1. Submit executed court documents verifying to whom the assets should be paid.
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where the check should be mailed.

Custodian of UTMA Account Deceased

If the custodian of an UTMA account is deceased, we require the following:

• Death Certificate
• Court documents (requirements vary by state, please consult legal counsel for questions) naming a successor custodian.

Select one of the following two options:

1. Signed LOI to liquidate and close the account from the successor custodian

OR

2. Internal Account Transfer Request to a new account for the same minor, titled with the new custodian

Minor Named on UTMA Account Deceased

Funds for this type of account will belong to the estate of the deceased minor. We will need:

If an estate has been formed:

1. Submit Letters of Testamentary/Administration (see court or legal documents).
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where a check payable to the estate should be mailed.

If no estate has been formed:

1. Submit executed court documents verifying to whom the assets should be paid.
2. Submit a signed LOI that includes where the check should be mailed.

 

Becomes irrevocable upon death of account owner

Note: If the trust account will remain at Folio, it cannot exist under the same account number.

If the trust was reported under the deceased’s SSN, the deceased is the only Trustee.

We will need:

• Death Certificate
• Trustee Certification Form

Select one of the following two options:

1. Close the account from the new trustee by submitting a signed LOI to liquidate.

OR

2. Open a new account for the same trust with the new trust TIN and submit an Internal Account Transfer form.

If the trust was reported under the deceased?s SSN, and there are multiple trustees, we will need:

• Death Certificate
• Trustee Certification Form

Select one of the following two options:

1. Close the account from the new trustee by submitting a signed LOI to liquidate

OR

2. Open a new account for the same trust with the new trust TIN and submit an Internal Account Transfer form

We will need:

• Death Certificate
• Trustee Certification Form

Select one of the following two options:

1. Signed LOI to liquidate and close the account

OR

2. Request to keep the account as-is after the update of trustees