Is a Medallion signature required for a TOD/POD?

[badatmath]

I just recently heard of a medallion signature . . . for reasons . . . and so I looked up BOA requirements and it touched upon a topic I had not considered which was the transfer of assets after a death.

It mentioned one was required in case an account owner had died and I remembered I've been told that I am POD on some stocks. I will not be opening an estate on that as it is not required due to no real property of value aka a "small estate". Of course the state the (future) death will occur is not the one I live in.

So I guess the question is will the POD override the need for a medallion? The broker who has this stock (IDK how many I think 4 or less) is some small local 2-3 man firm in the state the account owner lives in so IDK if he requires whatever a large firm would ask for (is it a law? or up to individual?)

If it won't are there other places to get a Medallion? Trying to open an estate will be complicated if it isn't required in a place I don't live and don't have a clue what I'm doing anyway. . .

Account owner has assured me lawyer told them I don't even have to file a small estate affidavit. . .Google says this is not a court document anyway so frankly IDK what it is. It also says it takes "weeks to months" to do it. . .

 

[disneysteve]

I don’t know if you’ll need one but getting a medallion isn’t difficult. Our bank does it free for account holders. I needed a few when my cousin died and I was transferring his assets to me (I was the executor and sole beneficiary).

 

[badatmath]

I don’t know if you’ll need one but getting a medallion isn’t difficult. Our bank does it free for account holders. I needed a few when my cousin died and I was transferring his assets to me (I was the executor and sole beneficiary).

I won't have a "court document" since there is no probate and it says no exceptions. Possibly I don't understand the website though.
Documents you need to get your medallion:

• Document(s) requiring the stamp
• Government-issued photo IDs for all asset owners
• Statement for the account holding the securities (dated within one year)
• Statement for the account receiving the securities (dated within one year)
• Copy of death certificate and court documents appointing person representative / administrator / executor
• Depending on the request, either letters testamentary (dated within 60 days; within 6 months if in New York) or small estate affidavit layer
• For trusts: Notarized Bank of America trustee certification form layer
• For ownership changes: Beneficiary confirmation or transfer of death confirmation (dated within 6 months) layer

Important: Your document will not be stamped based on a will alone; court appointment documents are required.

Next step: Schedule an appointment with a Bank of America financial center associate to start your request. Please bring all necessary documents to your appointment.

Schedule an appointment

I have only talked to my bank once since I opened the account (20 some years ago) and they were horrible. I very nearly closed the account that day but thought it would create even more problems. . . They do not care about customers other than trying to bully you into investing money with them (which will never happen).

I do not really want anything to do with trying to sort out stuff in another state as it is but if I am in fact a TOD I won't have much choice.

This person gets easily confused and flat out lies sometimes so it is possible will never happen. I just ran across it for a different reason and started worrying.

 

[rk911]

Depends on the institution. When my BIL passed many of his assets transfered to my control simply by providing the first and last pages of the trust. But a few needed a medallion signature in addition to the trust pages. No big deal.

 

[badatmath]

Assets are few I believe but heck IDK. I was planning to hire someone to sort out the household goods (it is a rental) so I didn't have to fly there. I don't have property to sell or anything. It will be a huge pain I'm sure whatever happens.

 

[Sunset]

I'm going by memory but pretty sure it was simple:
When we made a claim at Vanguard , we just said who died, who we were, provided the copy of certificate of death and an account number to transfer the shares and $ into.
Had to fill out a Vanguard form giving them the info.

No medallion needed,
No Will
No Trust.

A TOD/POD means upon proving the owner is dead and you are the beneficiary, the institution has to transfer to you.

 

[Sunset]

Assets are few I believe but heck IDK. I was planning to hire someone to sort out the household goods (it is a rental) so I didn't have to fly there. I don't have property to sell or anything. It will be a huge pain I'm sure whatever happens.

I would fly there; you can stay for free at the rental assuming the month is paid for.
Reason I'd fly is to search the property for hidden $$$$ and other valuables. Seriously no matter what people say, they will hide $$$ and stuff.
Maybe this person has a Picasso hanging on the wall.
A random clean up person hired to toss stuff, won't tell you about the $10K under the dresser.

A few days searching and then hire someone to clean out the place or donate to various charities.

 

[badatmath]

I would fly there; you can stay for free at the rental assuming the month is paid for.
Reason I'd fly is to search the property for hidden $$$$ and other valuables. Seriously no matter what people say, they will hide $$$ and stuff.
Maybe this person has a Picasso hanging on the wall.
A random clean up person hired to toss stuff, won't tell you about the $10K under the dresser.

A few days searching and then hire someone to clean out the place or donate to various charities.

Yeah you have a point. No need to decide yet I guess.

I was looking at the medallion for a completely different reason when I ran across that blurb about death of account owner.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

I don’t know if you’ll need one but getting a medallion isn’t difficult. Our bank does it free for account holders. I needed a few when my cousin died and I was transferring his assets to me (I was the executor and sole beneficiary).

It was a huge pain for me when our primary bank was USAA, which does not have many branches, and so there are no USAA banks in our area. Most if not all banks want you to have an account with them to provide a medallion signature. (I wound up finding a Fidelity office about 20 minutes from us.)

 

[disneysteve]

It was a huge pain for me when our primary bank was USAA, which does not have many branches, and so there are no USAA banks in our area. Most if not all banks want you to have an account with them to provide a medallion signature. (I wound up finding a Fidelity office about 20 minutes from us.)

We use BOA and it was simple. They’ve always had great customer service and the ability to provide whatever banking services we’ve needed. I made an appointment online and was in and out pretty quickly.

 

[badatmath]

We use BOA and it was simple. They’ve always had great customer service and the ability to provide whatever banking services we’ve needed. I made an appointment online and was in and out pretty quickly.

LOL. That is funny. My one interaction with BOA after account opening was a nightmare. . . it was kind of like when the car dealer takes your old car keys and disappears . . . all they had to do was add a POD to my account but they WANTED to try to get me to put investments or some such thing and kept making excuses not to enter the information so I could be on my way. Just constantly changing the topic to try to redirect the conversation. Maybe I just got a bad apple. I've had no need to speak with anyone since . . . some years now. Hopefully I either won't ever need it or will get a nice rep if I do. . .

 

[disneysteve]

LOL. That is funny. My one interaction with BOA after account opening was a nightmare. . . it was kind of like when the car dealer takes your old car keys and disappears . . . all they had to do was add a POD to my account but they WANTED to try to get me to put investments or some such thing and kept making excuses not to enter the information so I could be on my way. Just constantly changing the topic to try to redirect the conversation. Maybe I just got a bad apple. I've had no need to speak with anyone since . . . some years now. Hopefully I either won't ever need it or will get a nice rep if I do. . .

Yeah I’ve never had an issue. Tellers are always friendly and efficient. Service reps (the ones with desks) have always been great. I’ve never had them try to push anything on me. We’ve been with them for 30+ years. Our daughter has used them since she was a teen so a dozen years or more with no issues.

 

[pb4uski]

IIRC the only time that I have needed a Medallion signature was with Vanguard, and that is part of the reason that we no longer do business with Vanguard. At the time our only banking was with a local credit union so in order to get a local bank to give us a Medallion signature I had to open a savings account with them. I closed that account a few years later once we were away from Vanguard.

 

[badatmath]

IIRC the only time that I have needed a Medallion signature was with Vanguard, and that is part of the reason that we no longer do business with Vanguard. At the time our only banking was with a local credit union so in order to get a local bank to give us a Medallion signature I had to open a savings account with them. I closed that account a few years later once we were away from Vanguard.

So silly they make you open an account for that. . .

 

[MarieIG]

I had to get medallion signatures for transfers of stock after DF passed. Recently I was looking into the transfer of stock in my name, from the transfer agent to my brokerage account, and they wanted a medallion signature to transfer the stock to the brokerage even though ownership is identical.

 

[Markola]

I needed a MSG a few years ago, but had never even heard of such an instrument before. My bank, Wells Fargo, no longer provides them. WF said they are antiquated, rarely used, and cause liability issues for the bank.

I finally got my more rinky-dink local bank that holds our mortgage to give me one. Colossal pain. Good luck.

 

[swakyaby]

After my mother passed, she had several accounts that required Medallion signatures before the trustee could distribute to the beneficiaries. Wells Fargo where I had my checking account refused, Chase Manhattan where my brother has an account also refused. Fidelity provided one Medallion signature, reluctantly, since the funds transfer did not involve them. One bank in Missouri also insisted on a Medallion signature guarantee. I explained to that bank that multiple banks refused, and asked how to get around this problem. She said if I provided a statement that 3 financial institutions were asked and refused, the names of the customer service and their direct phone numbers, then the requirement would be waived. Interesting . . .

 

[jgrdarrash]

When Mom died last year I needed a medallion to transfer from her accounts at Fidelity to new accounts at Fidelity. Our bank was easy (provided document that I was entitled to the funds). My brother's bank only did them at certain branches but ended up ok. But you definitely have to have an account. It's not just a notary.