# California’s New Law Makes Brokerages Notify TOD Beneficiaries

> SB 1288 (Stats. 2026, ch. 691) makes brokerages notify transfer-on-death beneficiaries within 60 days. Start dates, exceptions, and what to check now.

Source: https://ridleylawoffices.com/sb-1288-tod-beneficiary-notice-california/
Published: 2026-11-03
Author: Estate Planning Attorney Eric Ridley

A California brokerage or other firm holding a transfer-on-death account that learns you’ve died will soon have to try to find the people you named on your transfer-on-death account and tell them. Until now, the statute didn’t require that. The phase-in turns on the date the last owner dies: on or after January 1, 2027 for charities, and on or after January 1, 2028 for everyone else, including individuals.

The new law is [SB 1288](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1288) (Laird). It was signed September 27, 2026, as Stats. 2026, ch. 691. It amends [Prob. Code, § 5507](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PROB&sectionNum=5507), part of the Uniform TOD Security Registration Act. [CalNonprofits](https://calnonprofits.org/sb1288-is-law/) co-sponsored it with San Diego Humane Society and Valley Humane Society. Its point was that state law hadn’t required financial institutions to tell beneficiaries, charities included, that they had been named.

**60 days**

For the firm to try to notify each named beneficiary

**60 days**

To pay a beneficiary after they submit the required paperwork

**Jan. 1, 2028**

Start date for individual beneficiaries; charities start Jan. 1, 2027

## What does SB 1288 require a brokerage to do?

Once the firm receives information showing that every owner has died, it has to start its beneficiary notification process. That information can be a certified death certificate, a Consular Report of Death Abroad, a presumption-of-death order, a Death Master File match, or anything else in the firm’s own records that tells it the owner died. One such document from anyone, whether an executor, a trustee, or a beneficiary, is enough.

Within 60 days, the firm must make a reasonable and good-faith effort to notify each named beneficiary. The first notice can’t reveal the balance or transaction history. The firm discloses the beneficiary’s percentage and dollar share only after confirming who they are.

Each beneficiary then gets their share within 60 days of handing over the required paperwork. They don’t wait on the others. The firm can’t make co-beneficiaries file at the same time or set coordination deadlines, and only one of them has to submit proof of death. The firm can’t make anyone open an account to collect, and it may pay by check or transfer.

## What are the exceptions?

A beneficiary’s payout can be held up in a few situations. The firm can pause if a lien, levy, or court order requires it, if it gets written notice of a pending court petition over the security, or if a claimant sends written notice objecting to the transfer. A hold based on a claimant’s written notice of a dispute can’t last more than 30 days, which gives the claimant time to get a court order. It can also pause if co-beneficiaries share a single indivisible asset and one of them directs the firm not to liquidate while they fight about it.

The law also doesn’t require a firm to break federal or state law, including securities self-regulatory rules. If that happens, the firm owes the beneficiary a written notice within 60 days naming the legal authority.

## What does it do for charities?

Nonprofits get their own rules. A nonprofit corporation, charitable trust, or 501(c)(3) proves who it is with its EIN, phone number, and mailing address. The firm can’t demand personal identifying information from board members or employees, though it may ask for photo ID if someone shows up in person.

That’s the fix for the problem the sponsors described. A charity that never hears it was named can’t claim anything.

## When does SB 1288 start?

Two dates matter. Per the [bill text](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1288), the new subdivisions apply to nonprofit beneficiaries when the last owner dies on or after January 1, 2027, and to every other beneficiary when the last owner dies on or after January 1, 2028. The new subdivisions (b) to (l) don’t apply at all if every owner died before January 1, 2027. [Senator Laird’s office](https://sd17.senate.ca.gov/news/new-laird-law-makes-it-easier-nonprofits-receive-gifts-left-donors) says the bill takes effect January 1, 2027, so read the phased dates in the text before you tell a family member what to expect.

| Final owner dies | Charity or nonprofit beneficiary | Individual beneficiary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Before January 1, 2027 | Old law | Old law |
| January 1, 2027 to December 31, 2027 | New rules apply | Old law |
| January 1, 2028 or later | New rules apply | New rules apply |

## Does it cover my IRA or 401(k)?

Advocates describe the law as reaching IRAs and 401(k)s. I’d be careful. Section 5507 governs securities registered in beneficiary form, meaning TOD brokerage accounts. An IRA passes under its account agreement and beneficiary designation. A 401(k) is generally governed by the plan and federal ERISA law, and the statute doesn’t mention either. Whether a court or a custodian will treat them as covered is unsettled. Don’t count on this law to find your IRA beneficiaries.

## What should I do now?

The law helps only if the firm has someone to notify. A stale address, a married name, or a beneficiary who died years ago defeats a good-faith effort.

Pull the beneficiary or TOD form for every brokerage account and check each one. Are the names and contact details current? Is there a contingent beneficiary if the first one has died? Do the percentages add up the way you intend?

Then write down where every account is held, and give that list to your executor or trustee. A notification process can’t start for an account nobody knows exists. If you leave money to a charity, give the charity’s legal name and EIN.

If your forms conflict with your trust, bring them to your estate planning attorney before you need them to work. The form wins over the will and the trust, as [beneficiary designation vs. will](https://ridleylawoffices.com/beneficiary-designation-vs-will-california/) explains, and the firm’s [beneficiary audit guide](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/beneficiary-audit/) walks through checking every account. For what a beneficiary does after a death, see [transferring stocks after a death in California](https://ridleylawoffices.com/transfer-stocks-after-death-california/).

## Talk to a real California estate attorney

If you want to know whether your beneficiary forms match your trust, I’ll review them with you and tell you what to change. **[Talk to Eric Ridley](https://ridley.click/eric-30)** is a free 30-minute consultation by phone or Zoom, anywhere in California. Or call [(805) 244-5291](tel:+18052445291).

Sources

- [SB 1288, Stats. 2026, ch. 691 (chaptered text)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1288)
- [Senator Laird press release](https://sd17.senate.ca.gov/news/new-laird-law-makes-it-easier-nonprofits-receive-gifts-left-donors)
- [CalNonprofits: SB 1288 is law](https://calnonprofits.org/sb1288-is-law/)

## Frequently asked questions

### What does California SB 1288 require brokerages to do?

SB 1288 (Stats. 2026, ch. 691) amends Prob. Code, § 5507. Once a firm learns every owner of a transfer-on-death security has died, it must make a reasonable, good-faith effort within 60 days to notify each named beneficiary, and pay each beneficiary within 60 days after they submit the required paperwork.

### When does SB 1288 take effect?

It depends on the beneficiary. The new rules apply to charities and other nonprofits when the final owner dies on or after January 1, 2027, and to all other beneficiaries when the final owner dies on or after January 1, 2028. They don’t apply if every owner died before January 1, 2027.

### Can a brokerage make a beneficiary open an account to receive a TOD transfer?

No. Under SB 1288, the firm may pay by check, fund transfer, or another method, and it can’t require a beneficiary to open an account or become its customer.

### Can a brokerage delay a TOD payout under SB 1288?

Yes, in listed situations: a lien, levy, or court order; written notice of a pending court petition; a written objection or claim from a claimant, with a claim-based hold capped at 30 days; or co-beneficiaries disputing whether to sell a single indivisible asset.

### Does SB 1288 cover IRAs and 401(k)s?

The statute amends Prob. Code, § 5507, which governs securities registered in transfer-on-death form, and it doesn’t mention IRAs or 401(k)s. Those pass under their own account agreements and, for most 401(k)s, federal law, so don’t rely on SB 1288 for them.

Related reading: [beneficiary designation vs. will](https://ridleylawoffices.com/beneficiary-designation-vs-will-california/), [the beneficiary audit guide](https://ridleylawoffices.com/guides/beneficiary-audit/), [transferring stocks after a death](https://ridleylawoffices.com/transfer-stocks-after-death-california/), and [successor trustees](https://ridleylawoffices.com/estate-planning-glossary-california/successor-trustee/).

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**Written by Eric D. Ridley.** Estate Planning Attorney at Ridley Law, serving Ventura County since 2010. Last reviewed November 3, 2026. [Learn more about Eric →](https://ridleylawoffices.com/about/)

*This post is general information about California law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship.*