After someone dies, the “important” tasks and the “urgent” tasks tend to collide. You may be choosing a funeral home or confirming cremation arrangements at the same time you’re trying to stop automatic withdrawals, secure online logins, and figure out what happens to an investment account. If your loved one had accounts at Charles Schwab, the good news is that there is a clear path forward. Schwab’s process is designed to protect the account, verify who has authority, and then move assets to the right people—beneficiaries, a surviving joint owner, or an executor handling an estate.
This guide walks you through how families typically close Charles Schwab account after death situations: how to notify Schwab, what documentation you’ll likely need, what “verification” really means, and how inheritors usually receive assets. Along the way, we’ll also acknowledge something practical: many families are making memorial decisions at the same time, from funeral planning to choosing cremation urns for ashes, pet urns for ashes, or cremation jewelry. Those choices do not have to be rushed, but it helps to understand how the financial timeline and the memorial timeline can fit together without adding stress.
Start with one steady step: notify Schwab of the death
In the first days, your job isn’t to “close everything.” It’s to secure what needs securing so nothing gets worse while you grieve. Schwab encourages families to notify them when a client dies, so accounts can be protected and the inheritance process can begin. Their dedicated guide, Death Notification: What to do when a loved one dies — Inheritance Center, explains the process and what happens after documentation is received. According to Schwab, once the death certificate is submitted, verification is typically completed within five business days, and then the inheritance workflow moves forward. Charles Schwab
If you’ve heard the phrase “Schwab losing a loved one” or “Schwab Inheritance Center,” those are essentially references to the same support pathway. Schwab also introduced a digital Inheritance Center experience meant to make tasks like document upload, account opening for inheritors, and status updates easier. Charles Schwab press release
Even if you don’t have every document in hand yet, it’s still worth making that first contact. The initial notification can help reduce risk and clarify which track you’re on (beneficiary transfer, joint account update, trust distribution, or probate/estate administration).
What you’ll need to get the process moving
Families often worry they must present a perfect packet on day one. In reality, most firms—Schwab included—move in phases. First is basic identification, then proof of death, then proof of authority. If you can think in that order, the process feels less overwhelming.
These are the items most commonly requested in a Schwab deceased account situation:
- A certified death certificate (or the information needed to request one)
- The deceased person’s identifying details (full legal name, last known address, and account information if you have it)
- Your identifying details and relationship to the deceased
- Proof of authority if you are acting for the estate (for example, court-issued letters appointing an executor/administrator, or trust documentation if you’re a trustee)
- Beneficiary details if you are a named inheritor and need to open or confirm a receiving account
If you feel stuck because you can’t locate statements or you’re unsure what accounts exist, that’s more common than people admit. A practical companion to this step is Funeral.com’s guide Notifying Banks After a Death: A Simple Preparation List, because the questions and document rhythm are similar across financial institutions.
Why Schwab has to verify documents before assets move
It can feel frustrating to be asked for paperwork when you are already exhausted. But verification is part of consumer protection. Investment accounts can hold cash, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, retirement assets, and sometimes pledged collateral. A firm can’t legally treat an account as transferable simply because a family member calls. This is why “proof of death” and “proof of authority” matter, especially when there is no surviving joint owner and no direct beneficiary designation.
Schwab’s guidance notes that death certificate verification is a key milestone, and that the inheritance process begins after verification, with Schwab reaching out to inheritors and estate professionals as appropriate. Charles Schwab
If you are the executor and you’re coordinating multiple financial institutions, it often helps to keep a simple log: who you notified, what they requested, and what was submitted. That kind of steady organization can also protect you later if questions arise about timing or account activity.
How Schwab accounts are typically transferred after death
The path for transferring a Schwab account depends on how the account was titled and whether beneficiaries were named. This is where families sometimes assume everything is “probate,” when in reality many accounts are designed to transfer outside of probate if the paperwork was set up in advance.
If there are named beneficiaries
Many brokerage accounts allow a transfer-on-death (TOD) or beneficiary-style designation. When a valid beneficiary is on file, assets can often be transferred without probate, though the beneficiary still has to complete the firm’s inheritance steps. Federal regulators encourage people to plan ahead for brokerage account transfers and keep beneficiary information current. FINRA
It can help to know that TOD registration is widely used and generally governed by state law and firm policy. The SEC’s investor education materials explain that brokerage firms may offer TOD registration and that beneficiaries still need to re-register assets in their names, typically with documentation like a death certificate. Investor.gov
If the account was jointly owned
When accounts are held jointly with rights of survivorship, the surviving owner typically becomes the owner after the firm updates the registration based on the death certificate and any required forms. This can be one of the simpler pathways, but it’s still wise to ask about automatic deposits, linked bank transfers, and any margin features that could keep activity moving in the background.
If the assets are in a trust
If a trust owns the account, the successor trustee usually has authority to manage and distribute the assets according to the trust terms. In that case, Schwab may request trust documentation along with proof of death and trustee identification. Trust-based distribution can reduce probate involvement, but it still requires careful paperwork, especially if multiple beneficiaries will receive different portions.
If there are no beneficiaries and no joint owner
This is the “estate administration” track. The estate may need a court-appointed personal representative (executor/administrator) before assets can be distributed. In that scenario, families often open a dedicated estate account to consolidate and manage estate assets before distribution. Schwab offers a specific estate account designed for executors or court-appointed administrators. Charles Schwab
From a family perspective, the takeaway is simple: you don’t have to guess which track applies. Your job is to provide the right proof and then follow the steps Schwab gives you for that account’s registration type.
What “closing” a Schwab account really means
People often search “close brokerage account after death” and imagine a single “close account” button. In reality, accounts are usually “closed” as a result of transfer. If assets move to beneficiaries, the deceased person’s account eventually reaches a zero balance and is closed in the natural course of processing. If the estate needs an interim account, the original account may be retitled or transferred into an estate structure before final distribution. If there are multiple accounts—brokerage, IRA, checking, credit—each may follow a slightly different internal workflow.
That can feel like a lot. If it helps, think of it as a sequence: secure, verify, transfer, close. And if you’re balancing this with other practical tasks—like canceling subscriptions or preventing unauthorized logins—Funeral.com’s guide Closing Accounts and Subscriptions After a Death can help you decide what to do immediately versus what can wait.
How financial timelines connect to funeral planning and cremation choices
Families sometimes assume they must “wait for the inheritance” to make any memorial decisions. But most memorial planning can move on its own timeline. The funds used for a service or cremation are often paid from existing household resources, family support, or (in some cases) estate funds if an executor has access and the estate has cash available. If you’re trying to understand the budget side of this, Funeral.com’s guide How Much Does Cremation Cost in the U.S.? is a calm breakdown of what changes the total and why that number can vary so much.
It may also help to know that cremation is now the majority choice in the United States. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the U.S. cremation rate is projected to reach 63.4% in 2025, more than double the burial rate. And the Cremation Association of North America reports a U.S. cremation rate of 61.8% in 2024, with continued growth projected. Those trends matter because they explain why so many families are making decisions about ashes, urns, and keepsakes alongside the financial tasks of settling an estate.
Choosing cremation urns, keepsakes, and pet memorials while you handle estate steps
Even when the paperwork is heavy, the memorial choices are often the parts that feel most tender. If your family chose cremation, you may be searching for cremation urns or cremation urns for ashes before you feel emotionally ready. That’s normal. The goal isn’t to “pick perfectly.” The goal is to choose something that matches the plan: keeping ashes at home, dividing ashes among family, burial in a cemetery, or a ceremony like water burial.
If you want to browse in a way that feels calm and not overwhelming, start with a broad collection and narrow down based on the plan. Funeral.com’s cremation urns for ashes collection is a helpful “starting shelf,” and the small cremation urns collection is useful when you need something compact for a second home, a shared arrangement, or a portion of remains.
For families who want to share ashes among siblings or children, keepsake urns can be a gentle solution. Funeral.com’s keepsake urns collection focuses on pieces designed for small portions, and the Journal guide Keepsake Urns Explained can help you understand capacity in real-life terms without guesswork.
If your loss includes a beloved animal companion, you deserve the same clarity and care. Funeral.com’s pet urns and pet cremation urns collection includes a range of styles, including sculptural options in the pet figurine cremation urns collection. For families who want a smaller shared memorial, the pet keepsake cremation urns collection is designed for symbolic portions.
Cremation jewelry and keeping ashes at home: the questions families ask most
Sometimes the most comforting choice is the most personal one: a small portion kept close, not just displayed. That’s where cremation jewelry can matter. Funeral.com offers both a broad cremation jewelry collection and a focused cremation necklaces collection, and the Journal guide Cremation Jewelry 101 is a gentle explanation of how pieces work, how much they hold, and what “secure” typically means.
If your family is considering keeping ashes at home, you’re not alone—and you usually have more flexibility than you think. Funeral.com’s guide Keeping Ashes at Home covers practical placement, safety around kids and pets, visitors, and how to reduce stress when different relatives have different comfort levels. Many families keep ashes at home temporarily while estate steps are being handled, and then later decide on a final placement once the first wave of urgency has passed.
Water burial and “what to do with ashes” when the plan is a ceremony
Some families feel strongly that ashes should be returned to nature or placed in a meaningful location. If you’re searching what to do with ashes or considering water burial, it helps to understand the rules and the reality. For U.S. ocean waters, federal guidance is often framed around the EPA’s burial-at-sea rules, including the commonly referenced “three nautical miles” requirement and reporting expectations. Funeral.com’s guide Water Burial and Burial at Sea: What “3 Nautical Miles” Means explains that distance in plain language so you can picture what it actually looks like in planning.
For families who want a ceremony plus something tangible to keep, it’s also common to combine approaches: a portion scattered or placed in a biodegradable urn for the water, and a small home memorial using small cremation urns, keepsake urns, or cremation necklaces. That “both/and” approach can honor the moment while still giving daily life a place to return to.
A gentle closing thought: you don’t have to do everything at once
When you’re trying to notify a financial institution, gather legal paperwork, and make memorial decisions, the emotional load can feel out of proportion to the actual tasks. If you can, let the process be what it is: a sequence you move through in small, steady steps. Notify Schwab. Submit the death certificate when you have it. Provide proof of authority if you’re acting as executor or trustee. Follow the inheritance steps for that account type. Then allow the memorial choices—urn, keepsake, jewelry, home placement, or ceremony—to be made with care rather than panic.
And if you need one practical anchor while you work through all of it, start with securing logins and account access in a safe, organized way. Funeral.com’s Digital Accounts After a Death: A Practical Closure Checklist can help you avoid the most common missteps, especially when financial accounts are tied to email, phones, and password resets.
In the middle of grief, clarity is a kind of kindness. You deserve that—one step at a time.
