How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at America First

Covers 14 deposit, 6 retirement, and 2 investment accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch

America First

Credit Union · Regional

americafirst.com
America First logo
Mailing Address

America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409

Spanish (1-877-AFCU-HOY)

America First Trust Advisors (Members Trust Company)

Vice President of Trust Services
Senior Trust Associate

Trust Services -- Deceased Member Account Counseling / Estate Settlement

Mailing Address

America First Credit Union, P.O. Box 9199, Ogden, UT 84409

Trust Services (estate settlement, deceased member accounts)
Verified Jul 2026

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 will require probate, which means court involvement and delays for your family.

Across 22 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.

Classic CheckingPremium CheckingMoney Market CheckingYouth CheckingShare SavingsMoney Market SavingsStudent SavingsYouth SavingsHealth Savings Account (HSA)Regular Certificate (CD)Bump-Rate CertificateFlexible CertificateLadder CertificateDedicated Savings
1
Visit any America First branch with government-issued photo ID
2
Ask for AFCU Form #40 (POD Designation), or AFCU Form #211 if the payable-on-death beneficiary is a trust
3
Complete the form for each payable-on-death beneficiary:
  • 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
4
Sign as member/owner and provide ID type, issuer, number, and expiration in the signature block
5
If the account is a minor member account, all joint owners must also sign
6
The branch representative completes the AFCU employee name and branch number section

Required Documents

  • Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)

Special Requirements

  • Only members may sign to add or change a POD (AFCU Form #40)
  • A new POD designation supersedes any previous designation on the account
  • All joint owners must sign when adding a POD to a minor member account
  • AFCU Form #40 does not designate PODs for IRA accounts -- use AFCU Form #424
  • To designate a trust as the payable on death, use AFCU Form #211 rather than Form #40
  • Per Membership Agreement Section 5, POD designations do not apply to IRA, HSA, Coverdell Education Savings, or certificate accounts -- each is governed by a separate beneficiary designation
  • In the absence of a POD beneficiary on a certificate account, the POD designation on the share savings account governs that certificate
  • Accounts payable to more than one POD beneficiary are owned jointly by those beneficiaries with rights of survivorship (Membership Agreement Section 5)
  • 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
SimplyTrustSimplyTrust Editorial·

Sources

Data sourced from America First primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.

Download these America First instructions

Download instructions for the whole estate

A 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.

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