Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Maryland’s Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act, Estates and Trusts Article Title 16, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. Transportation Article section 13-115 separately allows a TOD beneficiary on a vehicle title.
How Maryland handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Maryland’s Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act is Title 16 of the Estates and Trusts Article. It defines beneficiary form as a registration of a security that shows the present owner and who becomes owner when the owner dies, and its definition of registering entity includes a broker or trust company. A security account under the Act includes a securities account with a broker and a cash balance in a brokerage account. |
| Effect on the will and probate | A transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form takes effect through the contract between the owner and the registering entity and Title 16, and it is not a will transfer. The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The sole owner or all then surviving owners may cancel or change a registration in beneficiary form at any time. The beneficiary has no say while the owner is alive. |
| Vehicle titles | Maryland allows a TOD beneficiary on a motor vehicle title under Transportation Article section 13-115. An individual who is the sole owner applies to the Motor Vehicle Administration to designate the beneficiary, and ownership passes to the beneficiary if the beneficiary survives the owner. The source says: “may apply to the Administration to designate a beneficiary”. The owner may cancel or change the designation at any time without the beneficiary’s consent. If the beneficiary does not survive the owner, the statute says the vehicle is part of the owner’s estate. |
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 Maryland transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Maryland, see Maryland probate cost, and for Maryland’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Maryland estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Maryland probate cost, how Maryland taxes retirement income, Maryland estate and inheritance tax, Maryland transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- Estates and Trusts section 16-101, Definitions: mgaleg.maryland.gov
- Estates and Trusts section 16-106, Effect of registration in beneficiary form: mgaleg.maryland.gov
- Estates and Trusts section 16-109, Nontestamentary transfer on death: mgaleg.maryland.gov
- Transportation section 13-115, Transfer-on-death beneficiary designation: mgaleg.maryland.gov
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.