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A.R.S. § 14-6310

TOD Securities Registration: Terms, Conditions, and Beneficiary Forms

Verified April 4, 202657th Legislature, 1st Regular Session

Financial institutions that offer transfer on death (TOD) registration on securities can set their own terms. This includes steps for proving death, handling fractional shares, and naming primary and backup beneficiaries. They can also let a deceased beneficiary's descendants take that person's share.

Title 14, NONPROBATE TRANSFERS

azleg.gov

How Registering Entities Set the Rules

Each financial institution that offers TOD registration gets to decide the specifics. The steps for naming, changing, or canceling a TOD beneficiary can vary by institution.

The law gives them room to create terms that fit their operations. The protections in this article still apply regardless.

A registering entity that offers to accept registrations in beneficiary form may establish the terms and conditions under which it will receive and implement these requests as well as requests for cancellation of previously registered transfer on death beneficiary designations and requests for reregistration to effect a change of beneficiary.

A.R.S. § 14-6310(A)

For example, this covers how the institution verifies a death and how it handles fractional shares. It also covers how it processes changes to beneficiary forms during the owner's lifetime.

Per Stirpes Substitution and Registration Examples

One notable feature is the "LDPS" label. It stands for "lineal descendants per stirpes."

If you add this notation after a beneficiary's name, it creates a backup plan. If your named beneficiary dies before you, their share passes to their own descendants.

The registering entity may indicate a beneficiary substitution by appending to the name of the primary beneficiary the letters "LDPS" or the words "lineal descendants per stirpes". This designation substitutes a deceased beneficiary's descendants who survive the owner for a beneficiary who fails to survive.

A.R.S. § 14-6310(B)

The statute also shows several examples of how TOD registrations look in practice. A sole owner naming one beneficiary might read: "John S Brown TOD John S Brown Jr."

Joint owners with a backup beneficiary might use a longer format with the LDPS notation. These examples give financial institutions a standard to follow.

A. A registering entity that offers to accept registrations in beneficiary form may establish the terms and conditions under which it will receive and implement these requests as well as requests for cancellation of previously registered transfer on death beneficiary designations and requests for reregistration to effect a change of beneficiary. The terms and conditions may provide for proving death, avoiding or resolving any problems concerning fractional shares, designating primary and contingent beneficiaries and substituting a named beneficiary's descendants to take in the place of the named beneficiary in the event of the beneficiary's death. B. The registering entity may indicate a beneficiary substitution by appending to the name of the primary beneficiary the letters "LDPS" or the words "lineal descendants per stirpes". This designation substitutes a deceased beneficiary's descendants who survive the owner for a beneficiary who fails to survive, with the descendants to be identified and to share in accordance with the law of the beneficiary's domicile at the owner's death governing inheritance by descendants of an intestate. C. Other forms of identifying beneficiaries who are to take on one or more contingencies and rules for providing proofs and assurances needed to satisfy reasonable concerns by registering entities regarding conditions and identities relevant to accurate implementation of registrations in beneficiary form may be contained in a registering entity's terms and conditions. D. The following are illustrations of registrations in beneficiary form that a registering entity may authorize: 1. Sole owner-sole beneficiary by John S Brown TOD (or POD) John S Brown Jr. 2. Multiple owners-sole beneficiary by John S Brown Mary B Brown JT TEN TOD John S Brown Jr. 3. Multiple owners-primary and secondary (substituted) beneficiaries by either: (a) John S Brown Mary B Brown JT TEN TOD John S Brown Jr SUB BENE Pe...

This page provides general legal information about Arizona statutes and is not legal advice. For guidance on how this law applies to your situation, speak with a qualified attorney.

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