How do I create a beneficiary plan?

River allows you to name individuals, trusts, or organizations as beneficiaries on your accounts. Designating an account beneficiary or beneficiaries establishes a transfer on death (TOD) registration for your account. You can create a unique plan for every River account you own. This plan can be edited or removed at any time. For more information on what an account beneficiary is, click here.

1. To add a beneficiary, you visit the Beneficiaries page, which can be accessed in the top right corner of the web application.

   At this time, this feature is only available in the web browser.

   

2. This page will show each of your accounts and the beneficiary plans associated with each. Select the account you would like to create a beneficiary plan for by clicking “Start a plan.”

   

3. Click the “Add beneficiary” button.

   

4. Select the type of beneficiary you would like to add.

   

5. Fill out the beneficiary’s details and hit “Save.”

   

6. Once a beneficiary has been added, you can add more beneficiaries and select the allocation of your choice. Once you are satisfied, hit “Review plan.”

   

7. You will now have a chance to review your newly created beneficiary plan. If everything looks good, you can continue by clicking “Authorize plan.” This will redirect you to DocuSign, where you’ll need to sign your beneficiary plan.

   

8. In some cases, you may be asked about your marital status before you are redirected to DocuSign. Spousal consent is required if all of the following are true:

   
   
   • You are married
   • You live in one of the following states:
     • Arizona
     • California
     • Idaho
     • Louisiana
     • Nevada
     • New Mexico
     • Texas
     • Washington
     • Wisconsin
   • The beneficiary plan does not allocate 100% of the assets to your spouse.
   
   

   If spousal consent is required you will need to enter your spouse’s name and email. This will send them an email to sign the beneficiary plan.

   

9. Once you’ve signed your beneficiary plan in DocuSign, we will begin to process your plan. If spousal consent is required your plan will not be authorized until they have signed as well.

   

10. Once your plan has been authorized you will see the below screen and receive a confirmation email. You can also view your plan status by visiting your “Beneficiaries” page or the “Beneficiaries” tab within the account your plan is attached to.