Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities. Massachusetts lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form under its Uniform Probate Code, and the statute defines a security account to include “a securities account with a broker”.
How Massachusetts handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Massachusetts allows registration of securities in beneficiary form under article VI, part 3 of its Uniform Probate Code, M.G.L. c. 190B, section 6-301 and the sections that follow it. The definition of a security account reaches brokerage cash balances and reinvestment accounts, whether or not credited before the owner’s death. |
| Effect on the will and probate | The statute says a transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form takes effect through the contract between the owner and the registering entity and is not testamentary, so it is not a gift made by will. The source says: “is effective by reason of the contract regarding the registration”. The same section leaves creditors’ rights against beneficiaries and other transferees to other Massachusetts laws. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The owner may cancel or change the registration at any time without the beneficiary’s consent. The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death. The source says: “without the consent of the beneficiary”. For a registration with several owners, the sole owner or all surviving owners make the change. |
| Vehicle titles | The Massachusetts pages cited here do not describe a transfer on death beneficiary on a vehicle title. The one cited provision, M.G.L. c. 90D, section 15A, covers the death of a married owner and passes a pleasure vehicle to the surviving spouse unless a will provides otherwise. The Registry of Motor Vehicles is the place to confirm. The source says: “deemed to have been jointly held property with right of survivorship”. |
A $250,000 brokerage account split
An owner holds a brokerage account worth $250,000 and registers it in beneficiary form to two named beneficiaries, with each to receive half. Each share is computed as $250,000 x 50% = $125,000. The 50/50 split is the owner’s illustration, not a rule of the state: the owner names the beneficiaries and, where the form allows it, the shares.
Real estate, probate and estate tax
A transfer on death deed is a different instrument for real property: see transfer on death deeds by state. For what probate costs in Massachusetts, see Massachusetts probate cost, and for Massachusetts’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Massachusetts estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Massachusetts probate cost, how Massachusetts taxes retirement income, Massachusetts estate and inheritance tax, transfer on death deeds by state, car titles after a death, by state, and transfer-on-death registration by state.
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Answer againSources
- M.G.L. c. 190B, section 6-301, Definitions (Massachusetts Legislature): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section6-301
- M.G.L. c. 190B, section 6-306, Effect of Registration in Beneficiary Form (Massachusetts Legislature): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section6-306
- M.G.L. c. 190B, section 6-309, Nontestamentary Transfer on Death (Massachusetts Legislature): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter190B/Section6-309
- M.G.L. c. 90D, section 15A, Death of registered owner of motor vehicle (Massachusetts Legislature): https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXIV/Chapter90D/Section15A
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 8, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the plan administrator or the agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.