Updated October 8, 2026. Quick answer: Yes, for securities. Vehicles not described. New York’s transfer-on-death security registration rules are sections 13-4.6, 13-4.7 and 13-4.9 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law. The source says: “ownership of securities registered in beneficiary form passes to the beneficiary”. The New York DMV pages cited here do not describe a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a vehicle title.
How New York handles transfer-on-death registration
| Item | What the state documents say |
|---|---|
| Brokerage and securities accounts | New York’s transfer-on-death security registration rules include sections 13-4.6, 13-4.7 and 13-4.9 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law. It lets an owner register a security in beneficiary form, which the statute describes as a registration showing who will become owner of the security on the owner’s death. Registration may be shown by the words transfer on death or TOD, or pay on death or POD, and a registering entity sets its own terms and forms. |
| Effect on the will and probate | On the death of a sole owner or the last owner to die, ownership of a security registered in beneficiary form passes to the surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries by the registration. The statute calls the transfer nontestamentary. If no beneficiary survives all owners, the security belongs to the estate of the deceased owner. The statute does not limit the rights of creditors of security owners under other New York law. |
| Changing the beneficiary | The beneficiary designation has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death. The sole owner, or all surviving owners, may cancel or change the registration at any time. The source says: “without the consent of the beneficiary”. The statute adds that a registration can also be revoked or amended by an express direction in the owner’s will that specifically refers to the registration. |
| Vehicle titles | The New York DMV page cited here, which covers transferring a vehicle after the owner dies, does not describe naming a transfer-on-death beneficiary on a title or registration. The DMV is the place to confirm whether an owner can do so. That page describes transfers through a surviving spouse, children under 21, or an executor or administrator of the 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 New York transfer on death deed. For what probate costs in New York, see New York probate cost, and for New York’s own estate or inheritance tax, see New York estate and inheritance tax. Which of these your account or vehicle falls under depends on how it is titled.
Related: New York probate cost, how New York taxes retirement income, New York estate and inheritance tax, New York transfer on death deed, car titles after a death, by state, and transfer-on-death registration by state.
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Answer againSources
- EPTL section 13-4.6, Effect of registration in beneficiary form (New York State Senate, Open Legislation): https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-4.6
- EPTL section 13-4.7, Ownership on death of owner (New York State Senate, Open Legislation): https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-4.7
- EPTL section 13-4.9, Nontestamentary transfer on death (New York State Senate, Open Legislation): https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/EPT/13-4.9
- If a Family Member Has Passed Away (New York DMV): https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/if-a-family-member-has-passed-away
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.