Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Mississippi’s Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act, codified at sections 91-21-1 to 91-21-25, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and the owner may cancel or change it “without the consent of the beneficiary”. A separate 2022 act lets a motor vehicle owner name a beneficiary on the title application.
How Mississippi handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Mississippi’s Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act was passed as House Bill 929 of the 1997 session and is codified at sections 91-21-1 to 91-21-25 of the Mississippi Code. It defines beneficiary form as a registration of a security that indicates the present owner and the owner’s intention about who becomes owner on the owner’s death, and its registering entity includes a broker maintaining security accounts for customers. 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 Act says a transfer on death from a registration in beneficiary form is effective by reason of the contract between the owner and the registering entity and the Act, and not by will. On the death of the last owner, the security passes to the beneficiaries who survive all owners. If no beneficiary survives, the security belongs to the estate of the last owner. |
| 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 | Mississippi’s 2022 motor vehicle act lets an owner designate a beneficiary to whom the owner’s interest in the vehicle transfers on the owner’s death, by submitting an application for title with the designation. The legal name of the beneficiary must be included on the title. The designation is revocable and may be changed by submitting a new application for title, and the act says a will may not revoke or supersede it. The Department of Revenue may adopt rules to administer the section. |
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 Mississippi transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Mississippi, see Mississippi probate cost, and for Mississippi’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Mississippi estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Mississippi probate cost, how Mississippi taxes retirement income, Mississippi estate and inheritance tax, Mississippi transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- House Bill 929, 1997 Regular Session, Mississippi Uniform Transfer-on-Death Security Registration Act (as sent to the Governor): https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/1997/HB/0900-0999/HB0929SG.htm
- House Bill 1430, 2022 Regular Session, Motor vehicle title; authorize beneficiary designation (as sent to the Governor): https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2022/pdf/HB/1400-1499/HB1430SG.pdf
- House Bill 806, 2017 Regular Session, bill history (sections 91-21-1 to 91-21-25; died on calendar): https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2017/pdf/history/HB/HB0806.xml
- House Bill 178, 2025 Regular Session, bill history (sections 63-21-251 to 63-21-261; died in committee): https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2025/pdf/history/HB/HB0178.xml
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.