How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at 1st Source
Beneficiaries are managed in branch. Trust paperwork is taken in branch
The key to protecting your 1st Source accounts is making sure each one has a transfer mechanism in place—either a beneficiary designation or trust ownership. Without one, the account goes through probate, adding time, cost, and court involvement for your family.
1st Source has 22 product types, and the estate transfer rules differ across them. Some support Payable on Death (POD) designations, some can be retitled into a trust, and others pass through the estate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
No beneficiary form at 1st Source
Beneficiaries are named in branch.
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's name (On a certificate of deposit application)
Required Documents
- First page of the trust agreement (With a signed application for a certificate of deposit in the trust's name). The page that names the trust
- Last page of the trust agreement (With a signed application for a certificate of deposit in the trust's name). The page that lists the signers
Beneficiary designation is not available for investment accounts at 1st Source.
Beneficiary designation is not available for retirement accounts at 1st Source.
What 1st Source says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is 1st Source's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
A pay-on-death account names a payee who receives it at the death of the depositor or the last surviving joint depositor, and who has no interest in it before then.1
An "in trust for" account is opened by one or more depositors as trustees for named beneficiaries, and no separate trust agreement governs it.1
- Certificate of deposit
A certificate of deposit can carry payable-on-death or "in trust for" beneficiaries.2
What 1st Source's agreement says about beneficiaries3
- Changing or revoking a designation
On a Portfolio Savings account, payable-on-death beneficiaries can be added when the account is opened or afterward.3
- What the owner keeps while living
While the owner of an "in trust for" account lives, the bank may act on that owner's instructions alone and owes the beneficiary nothing for doing so.1
- Joint accounts
On a joint pay-on-death account, the payee takes nothing until the last joint owner has died.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Certificate of deposit
A certificate of deposit can be opened in the name of the owner's trust through the online application, which asks how the account is to be titled.2
What 1st Source says about trust accounts1
- Whether a new account is opened
A deposit account changes owner only on the bank's books, and the bank may require the account to be closed and a new one opened in the new owner's name.1
Not in 1st Source's published guidance6
- A beneficiary designation form
- A beneficiary form to download
- Who may be named as beneficiary
- How shares are split among beneficiaries
- What a designation takes to be effective
- How long a change takes
Sources3
- 1.Agreement for Deposit - Personal Accounts, effective August 2026
- 2.Certificate of Deposit Application
- 3.Portfolio Savings
Sources
Data sourced from 1st Source primary sources (37 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these 1st Source instructions
A printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details, verified against 1st Source primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
1st Source estate support
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