Knowledge Center

In This Section
• Standard Accounts
• Retirement Accounts
• Education Accounts
• Specialty Accounts
• Subscriber Account Status

Standard accounts include individual, joint and guardian/conservatorship accounts. These accounts can meet a variety of needs and are selected by many types of investors.

Individual Account

An individual account at Scottrade is an account where one sole owner is named. These accounts are very common and have few trading restrictions.

Joint Tenant Accounts

Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship

Joint tenant accounts are accounts that are shared by two or more accountholders. When a joint account has a "right of survivorship," it means that when one of the owners dies, the account and its property passes to the surviving owner or owners. This is the default joint account at Scottrade, and if no other joint account type is selected, accounts with joint owners will have right of survivorship.

Tenants in Common

Tenants in common is another type of joint account with two or more owners. When one owner dies, the ownership interest in the account passes to their estate/heirs and is not divided among the other owners. This is also called joint tenancy ownership.

Tenants by Entirety

In this type of joint account, each owner has a full interest in the account. Upon the death of one owner, the entire asset passes to the survivor. This registration is restricted to husband and wife.

Community Property

Community property accounts are owned by two married people who have acquired the property in the account during their marriage. These accounts reflect the idea that each spouse has equal ownership in the property because it was acquired jointly. In the instance of death or divorce, the property in the account is divided in half and ownership is split between the two account holders.

Nine states allow community property accounts: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Community property accounts may be cash, margin or option accounts and may invest in anything - stocks, CDs & bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, REITs, options, etc. Additionally, community property accounts may use any Scottrade platform for trading.

Guardianship/Conservatorship

This type of individual account is for a "protected person" who can't manage their own assets. The securities in the account are managed by the guardian or conservator. However, the guardian or conservator may only gain access to a limited portion of the assets with a court order or after posting a bond.

Investors opening standard accounts may be considered Professional Subscribers if certain conditions are met, which include the type of account being opened and/or an account holder's occupation. For assistance in determining your subscriber status, please read the Knowledge Center article Subscriber Status or contact local Scottrade team.