Transfer On Death - TOD

Transfer of Death sounds like a pretty good title for a horror movie. Get Blumhouse on the line.

Here, though, we're going to talk transfer on death, which has much less dramatic potential. Although, now that we think about it, the concept itself could play a role as motive in a murder mystery.

The term refers to the naming of a beneficiary to inherit an account. It's part of the estate-planning process.

You have financial accounts at a mutual fund company. You want to make sure your kids get that money, in case you die someday. So you set up a TOD registration. It names your kids as beneficiaries. Ownership of the account will now go to them in the event of your death. Whether or not they're the ones who killed you...that's the plot of a different story.