Beneficiary and Transfer on Death (TOD) Policy

  • Clients may add beneficiaries to their SD Bullion IRA account with Equity Trust by filling out Equity Trust’s beneficiary paperwork and submitting it to Equity Trust.
  • Clients may not add beneficiaries to SD Depository accounts titled in the name of LLCs, Trusts, Corporations, or other entities.
  • Clients may add beneficiaries to the SD Depository Individual account through the customer portal. The guidelines and instructions below apply.

Selection of beneficiaries through the SD Depository customer portal or other SD Depository paperwork preempts any terms in your will concerning the account for which you selected the beneficiaries. If you have any questions regarding this, you may want to review this information with a trusted legal advisor.

If you would like to amend, add, or remove a beneficiary please edit the beneficiary information on your account via the customer portal, or submit a new beneficiary form to SD Depository. When you fill out beneficiary information on the customer portal, please make sure you include ALL beneficiaries you want on the account.

If a Depository Account is held by more than one owner, the owners agree that the account shall be held as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship, and not as Tenants in Common. Upon the death of any owner, all rights in the account shall automatically vest in the surviving owner or owners. No portion of the account shall pass to any designated beneficiaries until the death of the last surviving owner.

Each Depository Account shall have only one set of designated beneficiaries, regardless of whether the account is owned by one individual or by multiple individuals.

Transfer on Death (TOD) registrations are not recognized in the state of Louisiana. For questions concerning this matter you may want to consult with an attorney or trusted legal advisor.  

Transfer on Death Instructions:

Transfer on Death (TOD) is a form of ownership that allows a depository account owner, while retaining all normal rights of ownership during his or her lifetime, to designate an individual or other entity as a beneficiary of the depository account upon the owner’s death. The ownership of the metals stored in the depository account passes to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries outside probate.

During the lifetime of the depository account owner or joint owners, his or her rights over the account are not restricted in any way by the beneficiary designation. The depository account owner may redeem, exchange, transfer, revoke, or change the TOD registration by providing appropriate instructions and documentation to SD Depository.

Eligible Owners:

The beneficiary component of the SD Depository customer portal form can only be used for:

  • Accounts registered to an individual
  • Accounts registered to joint owners with rights of survivorship

The beneficiary component of the SD Depository customer portal cannot be used for:

  • Accounts registered to entities such as corporations, trusts, or partnerships
  • IRA accounts

Types of Beneficiaries:

  1. Primary Beneficiaries. Primary beneficiaries are first in line to receive the account upon the account owner’s death.
  2. Contingent Beneficiaries. Contingent beneficiaries receive the account upon the owner’s death only if there are no primary beneficiaries still living upon the account owner’s death.

Eligible Beneficiaries:

Primary and contingent beneficiaries may include the following:

  • Individual person(s). If the beneficiary is a minor, you must designate a custodian for the minor.
  • Entities such as a trust, corporation, or charitable organization. If an entity is designated as a beneficiary, please make sure to list a contact person for the entity, as well as his/her job title.

No designation such as lineal descendants or lineal descendants per stirpes is permitted. If you designate more than one beneficiary, please be sure the percentages you assign add up to 100%. If no percentages are designated, an even split will be assumed. Any metals that remain upon dividing the account among multiple beneficiaries will revert to the first named beneficiary.

Transfer Rules:

  • Until the account owner dies (or, in the case of a joint account, all account owners die), a named beneficiary has no right to metals in the TOD account. No instructions can be accepted from, nor information provided to, that beneficiary.
  • For joint account owners, metals are transferred to beneficiaries upon the death of the last surviving account owner.
  • If a sole beneficiary does not survive the account holder, the account will be treated as belonging to the account owner’s estate.
  • Where multiple beneficiaries have been designated, if one or more, but not all of the beneficiaries do not survive the account owner, upon the owner’s death, the metals will be distributed among the remaining beneficiaries in proportion to the original percentage of assets previously designated to each surviving beneficiary.
  • If a beneficiary survives the account owner(s), but is not alive at the time the metals are presented for transfer, the metals will be treated as part of the beneficiary’s estate.

Changes to TOD Registration during Account Owner(s)’ Life and Revocation:

  • Account owner(s) may change or revoke the TOD registration at any time with instructions acceptable to SD Depository. To accomplish this, please edit the beneficiaries via your customer portal or request and fill out another “SD Depository – Beneficiaries” form.
  • The death of a co-owner of an account registered in TOD form will not revoke the TOD registration. However, the surviving co-owner may direct the re-registration of the account by editing the beneficiaries listed on the customer portal or filling out another “SD Depository – Beneficiaries” form.
  • Account owners are responsible for ensuring that the contact information for all designated beneficiaries is accurate and kept current.

Joint Accounts

  • Any joint owner may add, amend, or remove beneficiaries at any time via the customer portal or by submitting a new beneficiary form.
  • By opening a joint account or agreeing to the terms of use, all owners consent to this arrangement and waive any requirement that SD Depository obtain consent from or provide notice to the other joint owner(s).
  • This consent applies to all current joint owners and any person later added as a joint owner of the account.
  • The most recent beneficiary designation on file will control, regardless of which joint owner submitted it.
  • SD Depository is not responsible for disputes between joint owners concerning beneficiary designations.

Transfer of Metals to TOD Beneficiaries Upon the Death of Account Owner:

  • SD Depository will process a transfer of the metals to a designated TOD beneficiary or beneficiaries, subject to standard transactional and shipping fees upon receipt of
    • 1) satisfactory evidence of the death of the account owner(s) (a certified copy of the death certificate) and
    • 2) written instructions from each named beneficiary requesting that the account owner’s account be re-registered in their name(s) and/or shipped to the beneficiary or beneficiaries.
  • SD Depository is not under any obligation to verify contact information that is furnished for designated beneficiaries. Likewise, SD Depository shall not have not any obligation to attempt to locate a designated TOD beneficiary upon an account owner’s death.
  • Contingent beneficiaries will also need to provide certified death certificates for all primary beneficiaries.

Tax and Legal Consequences of TOD Registration:

SD Depository is not responsible for determining the tax and/or legal consequences of your decision to register your depository account in TOD form. Because TOD registrations do affect the disposition of your property at death, you should consult with your attorney or tax advisor to ensure that the registration is consistent with your estate and tax planning.

Indemnification:

By executing the attached TOD registration form and establishing an account subject to TOD registration, the account owner(s) and their designated beneficiaries, successors, legal representatives, heirs, and assigns agree to indemnify and hold harmless SD Bullion and each of SD Bullion’s directors, trustees, officers, and employees from and against any and all losses and liabilities (including court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees) resulting from SD Depository acting on this TOD registration request, maintaining this account, or transferring assets from said account in accordance with this request.

Investors should always consult with their legal and/or tax advisors before electing TOD registration since TOD registration can affect tax strategies and estate planning. You should also periodically review and, if necessary, update your TOD registration form.

By agreeing to the terms of use, you, the account owner, acknowledge:

  • Beneficiary information you supply on the customer portal replaces any prior beneficiary information submitted.
  • This information preempts any terms in your will concerning the account listed.
  • All account owners listed on the account are joint owners with rights of survivorship.
  • If you later want to include other beneficiaries, you will need to edit the beneficiaries on the customer portal or submit a new beneficiaries form.
  • You may specify share percentages or select for the account will be divided equally among the beneficiaries listed. If you do not provide share percentages the account will be divided equally among the beneficiaries listed.
  • Contingent beneficiaries receive assets ONLY if no primary beneficiary survives you.
  • SD Depository is not obligated to locate or notify any beneficiaries listed on this form.

The effective date of this agreement is the date the beneficiary document was signed by the account owner or the day the updated Customer Portal terms of use are agreed upon by the account owner.

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