A CommSec individual account is an account belonging to one person only, e.g. John Smith. When we receive notification that one of our customers with an individual account has passed away, we ‘lock’ the account until all relevant formal documentation has been received.

Once we receive this documentation, the shares will be ready for selling or transferring.

Selling the shares

To do this, we require all Estate executors¹ to complete a Deceased estate trade form.

We will then sell the shares at ‘market price’ (the price of the share at the time of sale), and the cost of this trade would be:

• $59.95 (for trades up to, and including $10,000)
• 0.52% (for trades over $10,000, up to $25,000 (inclusive))
• 0.49% (for trades over $25,000, up to $1,000,000 (inclusive))
• 0.11% (for trades over $1,000,000).

Proceeds will be paid by cheque in the name of the deceased, and sent to the address nominated on the Deceased estate trade form within five days of the trade being made. Please note that we are unable to direct funds to a nominated bank account.

Transferring the shares

To arrange for the shares to be transferred to one or more Estate executor/s¹ or Beneficiary/ies², please complete a Deceased estate off market transfer form. If the transfer is to be made to an existing CommSec Trading Account, please complete a CommSec internal bulk off market transfer form instead.

Please email the documentation to commsecestatesmanagement@cba.com.au or post to CommSec Estates Management, Locked bag 22, Australia Square, NSW 1215. Once received, we will action your request within 14 days, however if this is not possible for any reason we will let you know.

We’re here to help

If you have any questions, please contact us on 13 15 19 or +61 2 9115 1417 if calling from outside Australia, 8am to 7pm (Sydney time). Alternatively, you can email commsecestatesmanagement@cba.com.au

Important information

We understand that you may not be ready to sell or transfer all shares at a single point in time. If this happens we will send you a reminder, but please note that any shares remaining in the account three months after the initial sale or transfer will automatically become ‘issuer sponsored’, which means they will be sent to a share registry. You’d need to then liaise directly with the share registry to manage these shares.  

For more information on CommSec Estate Management, please click here.

1. An Estate executor is the person/s named in a will to take charge of the deceased’s assets and property. The Last will and testament (will) is a legal document in which a person specifies how they wish their estate to be distributed after their passing.
2. A Beneficiary is someone who receives or shares in the proceeds from a deceased estate.