Mississippi has adopted laws to allow a transfer on death deed.
It has previously adopted transfer on death laws for securities.
Under the laws, “Security” means a share, participation, or other interest in property, in a business or in an obligation of an enterprise or other issuer and includes a certificated security, an uncertificated security, and a security account.
“Security account” means:
(i) A reinvestment account associated with a security, a securities account with a broker, a cash balance in a brokerage account, cash, cash equivalents, interest, earnings, or dividends earned or declared on a security in an account, a reinvestment account or a brokerage account, whether or not credited to the account before the owner’s death;
(ii) An investment or custody account with a trust company or trust division of a bank with trust powers, including the securities in the account, a cash balance in the account and cash, cash equivalents, interest, earnings or dividends earned or declared on a security in the account, whether or not credited to the account before the owner’s death; or
(iii) A cash balance or other property held for or due to the owner of a security as a replacement for or product of an account security, whether or not credited to the account before the owner’s death.
Only individuals whose registration of a security shows sole ownership by one (1) individual or multiple ownership by two (2) or more with right of survivorship, rather than as tenants in common, may obtain registration in beneficiary form. Registration in beneficiary form may be shown by the words “transfer on death” or the abbreviation “TOD,” or by the words “pay on death” or the abbreviation “POD,” after the name of the registered owner and before the name of a beneficiary. The designation of a TOD beneficiary on a registration in beneficiary form has no effect on ownership until the owner’s death.
A registration of a security in beneficiary form may be cancelled or changed at any time by the sole owner or all the surviving owners without the consent of the beneficiary. On death of a sole owner or the last to die of all multiple owners, ownership of securities registered in beneficiary form passes to the beneficiary or beneficiaries who survive all owners. On proof of death of all owners and compliance with any applicable requirements of the registering entity, a security registered in beneficiary form may be reregistered in the name of the beneficiary or beneficiaries who survived the death of all owners. Until division of the security after the death of all owners, multiple beneficiaries surviving the death of all owners hold their interests as tenants in common. If no beneficiary survives the death of all owners, the security belongs to the estate of the deceased sole owner or the estate of the last to die of all multiple owners.
