Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities; vehicles not described. Rhode Island’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act, Chapter 7-11.1 of the Rhode Island General Laws, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. The vehicle title statute cited here does not describe a beneficiary designation.
How Rhode Island handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Rhode Island’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act is Chapter 11.1 of Title 7 of the Rhode Island General Laws, sections 7-11.1-1 to 7-11.1-12. It defines beneficiary form as a registration of a security that shows the present owner and who becomes owner when the owner dies. Registration may be shown by the words transfer on death or TOD, or pay on death or POD, after the owner’s name. |
| Effect on the will and probate | The chapter says a transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form works through the contract between the owner and the registering entity. The security is not an asset of the estate subject to probate. On the death of the last owner, the security passes to the beneficiaries who survive all owners. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death, and the sole owner or all surviving owners may cancel or change the registration at any time. The beneficiary has no say while the owner is alive. |
| Vehicle titles | Rhode Island’s vehicle title statute cited here, section 31-3.1-37, provides that a decedent’s vehicles pass to the surviving spouse unless the will says otherwise. It does not describe naming a transfer on death beneficiary on a title, and the Division of Motor Vehicles is the place to confirm whether one is available. The source says: “title to them shall pass, to the surviving spouse”. The state’s pages cited here are silent on a beneficiary designation for vehicles. |
| Who may use beneficiary form | Only individuals may obtain a registration in beneficiary form, and the registration must show sole ownership by one individual or ownership by two or more with right of survivorship. The source says: “rather than as tenants in common”. A registering entity is not required to offer beneficiary registration, so a firm may decline to offer it. |
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 Rhode Island, see Rhode Island probate cost, and for Rhode Island’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Rhode Island estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Rhode Island probate cost, how Rhode Island taxes retirement income, Rhode Island estate and inheritance tax, transfer on death deeds by state, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 7-11.1, The Uniform Transfer on Death Security Registration Act: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE7/7-11.1/INDEX.htm
- Rhode Island General Laws section 31-3.1-37, Passage of title upon death of owner: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE31/31-3.1/31-3.1-37.htm
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.