Joint Brokerage Application
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Although most people’s first investments are purchased in a retirement account where distributions and contributions are heavily restricted, regular taxable brokerage accounts are accessible to everyone. Anyone can save in a typical brokerage account.
Although most brokerage accounts opened at Schwab use the same application, a Schwab One Account Application for Personal Accounts, depending on who and how many people own the assets, there are different ways to fill out the paperwork.
This prefilled paperwork is intended for married couples wanting to open a jointly owned brokerage account.
In Section 2, we have selected “Tenants by the Entirety” as it is the joint account registration that provides the most creditor protection to married account owners. However, tenants by the entirety is only available to married couples and also only available to those in some states.
Currently, only Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming recognize the Tenants by the Entirety account registration. Residents of these sixteen states can select Tenants by the Entirety as the joint account registration.
If you do not live in one of those states, are not married, or hope to put a Transfer on Death registration on the account, then you may want to change your selection. You should select “Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship” if you want the other account holder to inherit your share of the account in the event or your death. You should select “Tenants in Common” if you want your share of the assets to go to your estate and not your fellow account holder at your death.
After that section, the rest of the form is simply filling out your personal information for the account open. You can simply add your personal information on Page 2 in Section 3 and then sign on Page 8 in Section 11.