Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities and vehicles. Missouri’s Nonprobate Transfers Law, chapter 461 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, and under section 461.028 a transfer on death direction “transfers the owner’s interest in the property to the designated beneficiary, effective on the owner’s death”, if the property is registered in beneficiary form before the owner dies, or if the request for the direction is delivered in proper form. Section 301.681 separately allows a beneficiary on a vehicle certificate of ownership.
How Missouri handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | Missouri’s Nonprobate Transfers Law is codified in chapter 461 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Section 461.028 provides that property, including accounts and securities, may be registered in beneficiary form by adding a direction to transfer it on the owner’s death to a designated beneficiary. The words transfer on death to, pay on death to, or the abbreviations TOD or POD may be used, and only the transferring entity or a person it authorizes may place the direction on the record. |
| Effect on the will and probate | During the owner’s life the beneficiary has no rights in the property from the designation. On the owner’s death the property passes to the beneficiary by operation of law, so it does not pass under the owner’s will. The source says: “passes by operation of law to the beneficiary”. If no beneficiary survives the owner, the property belongs to the owner’s estate. |
| Changing the beneficiary | A beneficiary designation may be revoked or changed in whole or in part during the owner’s lifetime, and the beneficiary’s signature or agreement is not required for any transaction respecting the property. A later designation revokes an earlier one unless it expressly provides otherwise. The source says: “revoked or changed in whole or in part”. For joint owners, a change needs the agreement of all owners then living, and a will cannot change a designation unless the designation expressly allows it. |
| Vehicle titles | Missouri allows a sole owner, or joint owners with survivorship or as tenants by the entirety, to ask the director of revenue for a certificate of ownership in beneficiary form under section 301.681. The certificate shows the words transfer on death to, or TOD, followed by the beneficiary. The source says: “signature or consent of the beneficiary or beneficiaries shall not be required for any transaction relating to the motor vehicle or trailer”. The owner can revoke the designation or change the beneficiary before death by selling the vehicle or by applying to reissue the certificate, and a certificate cannot be issued in this form to tenants in common. |
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 Missouri transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in Missouri, see Missouri probate cost, and for Missouri’s own estate or inheritance tax, see Missouri estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: Missouri probate cost, how Missouri taxes retirement income, Missouri estate and inheritance tax, Missouri transfer on death deed, and car titles after a death, by state.
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Answer againSources
- Section 461.028, Registration of property, including accounts and securities, in beneficiary form: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=461.028
- Section 461.031, Effect of beneficiary designation on ownership of property during lifetime and at death: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=461.031
- Section 461.033, Revocation or change of beneficiaries designation: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=461.033
- Section 301.681, Certificate of ownership in beneficiary form: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=301.681
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.