How to Fill Out and Submit the Acorns Beneficiary Form

Acorns handles beneficiary designations two different ways depending on the account. For an Acorns Invest (taxable brokerage) account, the Acorns beneficiary form is a PDF you download, fill out, and upload through a secure portal. For an Acorns Later (IRA) account, you skip the form entirely and add the beneficiary inside the app. Either designation creates a direct transfer that sends your balance to the person you name and keeps the account out of probate.1Acorns. Beneficiary Form and Agreement

Filling Out the Acorns Invest Beneficiary Form

The Invest form is a Transfer on Death registration that tells the brokerage who receives your taxable investment account when you die.1Acorns. Beneficiary Form and Agreement There is no in-app version. Three steps:

  • Download the PDF from the Acorns Help Center article on adding a beneficiary.2Acorns Help Center. Can I Add a Beneficiary to My Account?
  • Upload the completed form through the secure document uploader at app.acorns.com/upload-documents.
  • Submit a support request through the Help Center telling the team the form is ready to process.2Acorns Help Center. Can I Add a Beneficiary to My Account?

What the Form Asks For

For each person you name, the form collects the standard identifying information: full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship to you.

If you name more than one person, you assign each a percentage. You can also split people into primary beneficiaries, who receive the assets first, and contingent beneficiaries, who inherit only if every primary beneficiary has died before you. Percentages within each group have to add up to 100 percent. When you submit the support request after uploading, spell out exactly how you want the percentages distributed so nothing is ambiguous.2Acorns Help Center. Can I Add a Beneficiary to My Account?

Adding a Beneficiary to an Acorns Later Account

Acorns Later is an IRA, and the designation lives inside the app rather than on a form.3Acorns Help Center. How Do I Set Up a Beneficiary for My Acorns Later Account?

  • Log in to the Acorns app.
  • Tap “Later.”
  • Tap “Beneficiary.”
  • Enter the person’s information.

Two limits apply. The beneficiary has to be at least 18 years old, and the app only allows one beneficiary per Later account. Acorns does not support additional beneficiaries on Later accounts through the app.3Acorns Help Center. How Do I Set Up a Beneficiary for My Acorns Later Account? To change the designation later, contact Acorns support.

Accounts That Cannot Have a Beneficiary

Not every Acorns product accepts a designation. You cannot add a beneficiary to Acorns Checking, Emergency Savings, or Acorns Early. The Early Invest account is a custodial account under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, and the child the account was opened for is automatically its beneficiary. Nothing to file.2Acorns Help Center. Can I Add a Beneficiary to My Account?

Spouses and Community Property States

IRAs are not covered by ERISA, so federal law does not require you to name your spouse or get spousal consent before naming someone else on your Later account. That is different from a 401(k), which does require spousal consent.

The complication is community property. If you live in Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, or Wisconsin, your spouse may have an ownership interest in IRA assets that accumulated during your marriage, and naming someone else as the primary beneficiary may require your spouse to waive those rights. Acorns does not check this for you. If you are in one of those states and planning to name a non-spouse, talk to an attorney first.

Naming a Minor or a Trust

You can list a minor on the Invest paper form, but a minor cannot legally take ownership of brokerage assets. A court-appointed guardian or custodian would have to manage the funds until the child reaches the age of majority, typically 18 or 21 depending on the state. That is exactly the delay and expense a beneficiary designation is meant to avoid.

For a Later account the question does not come up. The app requires beneficiaries to be at least 18.3Acorns Help Center. How Do I Set Up a Beneficiary for My Acorns Later Account?

Some people name a trust instead, which gives them control over when and how a younger or financially inexperienced heir receives the money. Naming a trust as the beneficiary of an IRA can also change the distribution timeline and tax treatment, so that is a decision worth running past a professional.

Keep the Designation Current

The beneficiary on your Acorns account controls where the money goes, even if your will says something else. A will governs probate assets, meaning property that has no direct transfer mechanism. A beneficiary designation is a contract with the brokerage, and the brokerage follows the contract. Name an ex-spouse on the form years ago and forget about it, and the ex-spouse still gets the account no matter what your current will says. Review the designation after any major life change: marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of someone you previously named.

Skipping the designation entirely has its own cost. Without a named beneficiary, the account balance becomes part of your general estate and passes through probate under your state’s intestacy laws. Probate can freeze assets for six months to over a year and takes filing fees, executor compensation, and attorney costs out of the estate before anyone receives a distribution. Filling out the form takes a few minutes and avoids all of it.