Does Power of Attorney End at Death? (Interactive Brokers & Other Brokerages)

The Short Answer

Yes. A power of attorney ends at the exact moment the principal dies -- at Interactive Brokers and at every other U.S. brokerage, bank, and financial institution. This is a universal rule of agency law: the agent's authority comes from the principal, so when the principal is gone, the authority is gone with them. It does not matter whether the POA was general, limited, springing, or durable.

Once Interactive Brokers is notified of the account owner's death, the account is restricted and no one -- including the former POA agent -- can trade, transfer, or withdraw funds. Access is only restored once the estate's personal representative presents the proper probate documentation, or once a surviving joint owner or TOD beneficiary claims the account.

Why Power of Attorney Ends at Death

A power of attorney is a document in which one person (the principal) authorizes another (the agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on their behalf. The agent's authority is entirely derivative -- it is the principal's authority extended to someone else for convenience.

When the principal dies, three things happen at once:

1. The principal no longer has any legal capacity to own property, sign contracts, or authorize transactions. The deceased's assets now belong to their estate.
2. Because the principal can no longer hold or exercise authority, there is nothing left for the agent to exercise on their behalf.
3. Control of the deceased's assets passes, by operation of law, to the estate's personal representative (the executor named in the will, or an administrator appointed by the probate court if there is no will). See our guide to Letters Testamentary for how that person is formally authorized.

This is why you will sometimes hear that a power of attorney is a "lifetime document." It exists only during the principal's life, and it disappears at the instant of death -- even if the agent does not yet know.

"Durable" Does Not Mean "After Death"

A common point of confusion: a durable power of attorney remains valid if the principal becomes mentally incapacitated -- for example, from a stroke or dementia. Without the "durable" designation, a POA would automatically end at the moment the principal lost capacity.

But "durable" only extends the POA through incapacity, not through death. Every POA -- durable, springing, general, or limited -- terminates at death. No POA language, no matter how it is worded, can give an agent authority over the principal's assets after death. That kind of after-death authority can only come from a will (through an executor) or from a court order (through an administrator).

What Happens at Interactive Brokers Specifically

Interactive Brokers follows the same rules as every other U.S. brokerage, but the operational details are worth understanding.

When IB Is Notified of Death

Interactive Brokers should be notified as soon as possible after the account owner dies. You can notify them by submitting a death certificate through their secure document portal or by calling their client services line. Once IB has the death certificate on file, they will:

• Restrict the account -- no trades, transfers, or withdrawals
• Cancel any open orders
• Stop honoring the previous POA
• Freeze any outstanding margin balance pending resolution
• Begin the estate transfer process

Any POA the deceased had on file is terminated by operation of law at the moment of death, and IB is simply giving effect to what has already legally occurred.

What the Former Agent Cannot Do

If you held a power of attorney for an Interactive Brokers account and the account owner has died, you cannot:

• Place trades, even to "stabilize" or "protect" the portfolio
• Transfer funds out of the account
• Move positions to another account
• Close the account
• Continue any recurring transfers or withdrawals
• Log in on the deceased's behalf

Any transaction after the moment of death is unauthorized, even if it was initiated in good faith or to pay an expense the deceased wanted paid. The account now belongs to the estate, not to you.

What Happens to the Brokerage Account

A brokerage account at Interactive Brokers (or anywhere else) follows one of four paths after death. The right path depends entirely on how the account was titled:

1. Transfer-on-Death (TOD) Beneficiary

If the account has a registered TOD beneficiary, the named beneficiary claims it directly. IB transfers the assets to the beneficiary once they submit a death certificate, identification, and a claim form. The account does not go through probate for this portion.

2. Joint Account With Rights of Survivorship (JTWROS)

If the account was held jointly with rights of survivorship, the surviving joint owner automatically becomes the sole owner. The surviving owner still needs to notify IB, submit a death certificate, and have the account re-titled in their name alone.

3. Community Property or Tenants in Common

In community-property states, half of the account may belong to the surviving spouse by operation of state law, and the deceased's half passes through their estate. For accounts held as tenants in common, the deceased's share passes through their estate regardless of the survivor.

4. Individual Account With No Beneficiary

If the account was held individually with no TOD beneficiary, it passes through probate as part of the estate. The estate's personal representative -- the executor named in the will, or an administrator appointed if there is no will -- is the only person with authority to act on the account. They will need to provide IB with:

• A certified death certificate
• Certified Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court
• The executor or administrator's ID
• IB's transfer-of-assets or estate paperwork

Only after this documentation is accepted can the executor or administrator sell positions, transfer assets to beneficiaries, or close the account.

If You Held POA: What to Do Next

If you were acting as the account owner's POA agent before they passed, the clearest path forward is:

1. Stop all account activity immediately. Do not place a single trade, log in, or initiate a transfer after learning of the death.
2. Notify Interactive Brokers. Submit the death certificate through their portal or contact client services. This formally closes out the POA relationship in their records.
3. Identify who has authority now. Is there a TOD beneficiary? A surviving joint owner? An executor named in the will? If none of those, someone will need to petition the probate court to be appointed as administrator.
4. Hand off any records. Provide the executor or administrator with account statements, recent tax documents, and any notes on open positions or pending transactions. They will need this information for the estate inventory and for final tax filings.
5. Document your final actions. Write a short memo of the last transactions you made before the death and the date and time you stopped acting. If any payments or transfers cleared after the date of death that you initiated before it, note those as well.

Common Pitfalls

The biggest risks around POA and death are usually the result of confusion, not bad intent. Watch out for:

• Paying bills "the way you always did." Even ordinary expenses the principal wanted covered -- a rent payment, a charitable donation -- cannot be paid from the account under the POA after the principal dies. They must be paid by the estate.
• Moving funds to "protect" them. Transferring money to your own account, or even to another account of the deceased, is an unauthorized transaction after death. The personal representative is the one who protects estate assets.
• Assuming a joint account means no probate steps. Joint accounts with rights of survivorship pass to the surviving owner, but IB still needs notification and paperwork to re-title. Do not skip this step.
• Confusing POA with being the executor. These are separate roles. Holding POA does not make you the executor, and being the executor does not require you to have held POA. The executor is named in the will or appointed by the court.

When to Get Help

If the estate is small, the account has a TOD beneficiary, or there is a surviving joint owner, the path forward is usually straightforward -- notify IB, submit a death certificate, and follow their transfer paperwork.

If the account was in the deceased's sole name with no beneficiary, or if you acted under a POA and are unsure whether any of your recent actions were after the moment of death, it is worth speaking with a probate attorney in the deceased's state. An attorney can help you:

• Understand whether any post-death actions need to be reversed or disclosed
• Walk through the probate petition if one is needed
• Communicate with IB's estate-transfer team
• Clarify the boundaries between your former POA role and the incoming executor or administrator

SwiftProbate is an informational tool that can help you organize the estate, understand what documentation is needed, and navigate the steps involved -- but nothing here is legal advice.