How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at America First
Beneficiaries are managed in branch, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken in branch, by phone or by mail
The goal with your America First accounts is to make sure every account has a transfer mechanism in place—either a POD beneficiary designation or trust ownership. Because America First is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Accounts without either one pass through the estate, by probate or the state's small-estate procedure.
Across 23 product types, America First accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Payable on Death (POD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
Beneficiary form at America First
AFCU Form #40, Payable on Death (POD) Designation (for payable-on-death accounts), AFCU Form #40, Spanish version (for payable-on-death accounts), AFCU Form #211 (for payable-on-death accounts) and AFCU Form #424 (for IRAs).
Open the form →- Legal name, date of birth, SSN/ITIN, relationship to member, email, phone numbers, and physical/mailing address
- The form has room for multiple PODs across its two pages
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name and date of birth (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's SSN or ITIN (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the member (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's email, phone numbers and physical or mailing address (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Member's ID type, issuer, number and expiration date (in the form's signature block)
- The trust agreement, or a Certification of Trust identifying the trust name, date, and acting trustees
- The trust Tax ID (EIN), or the grantor SSN for a revocable living trust
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certification of Trust. Either is taken. The Certification of Trust gives the trust name, date, acting trustees and trustee powers, and keeps the dispositive terms private
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee)
- Trust tax ID (EIN). Or the grantor's SSN for a revocable living trust
- Signed Membership Application. It evidences the account change (Membership Agreement Section 26)
- Legal name, date of birth, SSN/ITIN, relationship to member, email, phone numbers, and physical/mailing address
- The form has room for multiple PODs across its two pages
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name and date of birth (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's SSN or ITIN (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the member (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's email, phone numbers and physical or mailing address (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Member's ID type, issuer, number and expiration date (in the form's signature block)
- The trust agreement, or a Certification of Trust identifying the trust name, date, and acting trustees
- The trust Tax ID (EIN), or the grantor SSN for a revocable living trust
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certification of Trust. Either is taken. The Certification of Trust gives the trust name, date, acting trustees and trustee powers, and keeps the dispositive terms private
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee)
- Trust tax ID (EIN). Or the grantor's SSN for a revocable living trust
- Signed Membership Application. It evidences the account change (Membership Agreement Section 26)
- Legal name, date of birth, SSN/ITIN, relationship to member, email, phone numbers, and physical/mailing address
- The form has room for multiple PODs across its two pages
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name and date of birth (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's SSN or ITIN (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's relationship to the member (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's email, phone numbers and physical or mailing address (for each payable-on-death beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Member's ID type, issuer, number and expiration date (in the form's signature block)
What America First says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is America First's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary5
- Payable-on-death account
AFCU Form #40 designates payable-on-death beneficiaries on deposit accounts (checking, savings and money market).1
- IRA
AFCU Form #40 does not designate PODs for IRA accounts. An IRA beneficiary is named on AFCU Form #424.1
Under Membership Agreement Section 5, POD designations do not apply to IRAs. Each is governed by a separate beneficiary designation.2
- Health savings account
Under Membership Agreement Section 5, POD designations do not apply to a health savings account. It is governed by a separate beneficiary designation.2
- Coverdell education savings account
Under Membership Agreement Section 5, POD designations do not apply to a Coverdell Education Savings account. It is governed by a separate beneficiary designation.2
- Certificate of deposit
Under Membership Agreement Section 5, a certificate account is governed by its own beneficiary designation. If a certificate has no POD beneficiary, the POD designation on the share savings account governs it.2
Who can be named1
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
Only members may sign to add or change a POD (AFCU Form #40).1
All joint owners must sign when adding a POD to a minor member account.1
Account changes "must be evidenced by a signed Membership Application and be accepted by the Credit Union" (Membership Agreement Section 26).2
The credit union "will not recognize the authority of someone to whom you have given power of attorney without an acceptable, written power of attorney on record" (Section 26), so an agent cannot change a POD until the POA is lodged.2
Beneficiary forms America First issues4
- AFCU Form #40, Payable on Death (POD) Designation
For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the member. Available to download.1
Return to
Mailing address: America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409
- AFCU Form #40, Spanish version
For payable-on-death accounts. Available to download.4
- AFCU Form #211
For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the member, to name a trust as the payable-on-death beneficiary. Sent by the institution on request.1
- AFCU Form #424
For IRAs. Sent by the institution on request.1
What America First's agreement says about beneficiaries4
- Changing or revoking a designation
A new POD designation supersedes any previous designation on that account (AFCU Form #40).1
- Divorce
Membership Agreement Section 2 says a joint-with-survivorship or POD designation "may be invalidated upon the Credit Union's receipt of marriage dissolution notice or a testamentary disposition, as required by applicable law."2
- Joint accounts
Under Membership Agreement Section 5, an account payable to more than one POD beneficiary is owned jointly by those beneficiaries with rights of survivorship.2
- Who can see the designation
The credit union has no obligation to notify a POD beneficiary of the existence of an account or the vesting of their interest, except as required by law.2
Which accounts a trust can hold3
- IRA
An IRA cannot be owned by a trust.3
- Health savings account
A health savings account takes a separate beneficiary designation and cannot be titled to a trust.3
- Coverdell education savings account
A Coverdell Education Savings account takes a separate beneficiary designation and cannot be titled to a trust.3
Trust account forms America First issues1
- Trust account application
Sent by the institution on request.3
Return to
Mailing address: America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409
What America First says about trust accounts1
- Review of the trust document
Under Membership Agreement Section 26 the credit union will facilitate trust arrangements, but "because the Credit Union does not give legal advice, we cannot counsel you as to which account arrangement most appropriately meets the specific requirements of your trust."2
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- America First Investment Services (LPL Financial)
Investment accounts held in a trust3
- America First Trust Advisors (with Members Trust Company)
Trustee, executor and estate settlement services3
Phone: 1-801-827-7379
Not in America First's published guidance1
- AFCU Forms #211 and #424 to download
Sources
Data sourced from America First primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these America First instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against America First primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
America First estate support
America First Trust Advisors (trust services provided with Members Trust Company)
Phone
Dirk Samson, Vice President of Trust Services
Suzi Palmer, Senior Trust Associate
Website
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