Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Minnesota’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act covers securities, and a natural person may have a motor vehicle “titled in transfer-on-death or TOD form”. Both transfers occur by the registration or title, not by will.
How Minnesota handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Minnesota’s Uniform TOD Security Registration Act is Minnesota Statutes sections 524.6-301 to 524.6-311. A security, whether held as a certificate or an account, is registered in beneficiary form when the registration names a beneficiary to take ownership at the owner’s death. The source says: “when the registration includes a designation of a beneficiary”. The Act covers brokerage and other securities accounts, and a registering entity is not required to offer the option. |
| Effect on the will and probate | At the death of the last owner, ownership of the securities passes to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries by the registration, and the statute states the transfer is not testamentary. The source says: “sections 524.6-301 to 524.6-311 and is not testamentary”. If no beneficiary survives, the security belongs to the estate of the deceased owner. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The owner can cancel or change the beneficiary designation at any time, and the beneficiary’s consent is not needed. The designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death. The source says: “without the consent of the beneficiary”. A will can also cancel the designation if it refers specifically to the security or account. |
| Vehicle titles | Minnesota Statutes section 168A.125 lets a natural person who owns a motor vehicle title it in transfer on death form by naming one or more beneficiaries on the title application. The beneficiary has no interest until the owner dies, and the owner can change the designation without the beneficiary’s consent. The source says: “may have the motor vehicle titled in transfer-on-death or TOD form”. Rights of secured parties and certain state or county claims continue to apply. |
| Spouse consent on vehicles | If the vehicle owner is married, naming a beneficiary other than the spouse requires the spouse’s written consent under the vehicle title statute. A transfer to a beneficiary under this section is not a testamentary transfer. |
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 Minnesota transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Minnesota, see Minnesota probate cost, and for Minnesota’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Minnesota estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Minnesota probate cost, how Minnesota taxes retirement income, Minnesota estate and inheritance tax, Minnesota transfer on death deed, car titles after a death, by state, and transfer-on-death registration by state.
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Answer againSources
- Minnesota Statutes chapter 524, Uniform TOD Security Registration Act (Office of the Revisor of Statutes): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/524/full
- Minnesota Statutes chapter 168A, section 168A.125 (Office of the Revisor of Statutes): https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/168A/full
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.