How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Associated Bank
Beneficiaries are managed online, in branch or by phone. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by phone
The key to protecting your Associated Bank 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.
Associated Bank has 17 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.
Beneficiary form at Associated Bank
POD beneficiary designation form (for payable-on-death accounts) and Beneficiary form (for employer retirement plans).
- Enter percentages in whole numbers; primary and contingent percentages must each total 100%
- The maximum number of primary and contingent beneficiaries is 100
- To name a trust, estate or charity, check the corresponding box and enter its name and Tax ID/EIN
- The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field
- If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site instructs you to use the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Specify percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- All account holders must sign the completed form
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Name and Tax ID/EIN of the trust, estate or charity (for a trust, estate or charity named in an employer retirement plan). The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field. If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site asks for the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Beneficiary form with the spouse's written consent (in an employer retirement plan, if married and naming anyone other than the spouse as primary beneficiary)
- Complete trust document or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued photo ID for all trustees
- Trust EIN (Employer Identification Number) if applicable
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued photo ID for all trustees
- Trust EIN if applicable
Required Documents
- Complete trust document or Certificate of Trust. Either the full trust document or a Certificate of Trust is accepted; for deposit accounts a Certificate of Trust is generally enough
- Government-issued photo ID (for all trustees)
- Trust EIN (Employer Identification Number) (if applicable)
- Trust account application
- Enter percentages in whole numbers; primary and contingent percentages must each total 100%
- The maximum number of primary and contingent beneficiaries is 100
- To name a trust, estate or charity, check the corresponding box and enter its name and Tax ID/EIN
- The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field
- If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site instructs you to use the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Specify percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- All account holders must sign the completed form
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Name and Tax ID/EIN of the trust, estate or charity (for a trust, estate or charity named in an employer retirement plan). The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field. If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site asks for the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Beneficiary form with the spouse's written consent (in an employer retirement plan, if married and naming anyone other than the spouse as primary beneficiary)
- Complete trust document or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued photo ID for all trustees
- Trust EIN (Employer Identification Number) if applicable
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust
- Government-issued photo ID for all trustees
- Trust EIN if applicable
Required Documents
- Complete trust document or Certificate of Trust. Either the full trust document or a Certificate of Trust is accepted; for deposit accounts a Certificate of Trust is generally enough
- Government-issued photo ID (for all trustees)
- Trust EIN (Employer Identification Number) (if applicable)
- Trust account application
- Enter percentages in whole numbers; primary and contingent percentages must each total 100%
- The maximum number of primary and contingent beneficiaries is 100
- To name a trust, estate or charity, check the corresponding box and enter its name and Tax ID/EIN
- The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field
- If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site instructs you to use the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Specify percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Provide beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number
- All account holders must sign the completed form
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Name and Tax ID/EIN of the trust, estate or charity (for a trust, estate or charity named in an employer retirement plan). The name field is limited to 39 characters, so abbreviate, and add a contact person in the Address 1 field. If the Tax ID/EIN is unknown, the site asks for the last four digits of your own Social Security number
- Beneficiary form with the spouse's written consent (in an employer retirement plan, if married and naming anyone other than the spouse as primary beneficiary)
What Associated Bank says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Associated Bank's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
A POD designation on a deposit account is made in a branch or by phone on the bank's form. It cannot be made online.1
- Employer retirement plan
Employer retirement plan participants add or edit primary and contingent beneficiaries online on the Retirement Plan Services site.1
Who can be named3
- A trust, employer retirement plans
A trust can be named as a retirement plan beneficiary, with its name and Tax ID/EIN.1
- The estate, employer retirement plans
An estate can be named as a retirement plan beneficiary, with its name and Tax ID/EIN.1
- A charity or nonprofit, employer retirement plans
A charity can be named as a retirement plan beneficiary, with its name and Tax ID/EIN.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
Unless the designation form says otherwise, the funds belong to the surviving POD beneficiaries equally, with no right of survivorship among them.2
The form asks for a percentage allocation when more than one beneficiary is named.3
- Employer retirement plan
Percentages are entered in whole numbers, and primary and contingent percentages must each total 100%. The maximum number of primary and contingent beneficiaries is 100.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- Payable-on-death account
The signatures of all account holders are required to add, change or remove POD beneficiaries.2
An agent under a power of attorney cannot designate, remove or change POD beneficiaries, or name himself or herself, unless the bank determines the agency document clearly authorizes it.2
- Employer retirement plan
If you are married and name anyone other than your spouse as primary beneficiary, your spouse must consent in writing on the Beneficiary form. The online entry alone does not complete a non-spouse designation.1
Beneficiary forms Associated Bank issues2
- POD beneficiary designation form
For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by all account holders. Sent by the institution on request.2
- Beneficiary form
For employer retirement plans. Completed by the participant, returned to the HR or Benefits representative. Completed online.1
What Associated Bank's agreement says about beneficiaries5
- A beneficiary who dies first
Beneficiaries must be living to claim an interest in the funds.3
Where two beneficiaries survive the owner and one then dies, half is paid to the living beneficiary and half to the deceased beneficiary's estate.2
No joint tenant or POD beneficiary has to survive the deceased account holder by any period for ownership to transfer.2
- What the owner keeps while living
POD beneficiaries have no ownership interest in the account until all account holders have died.3
The person creating the designation keeps the right to change the beneficiaries, change the account type, and withdraw all or part of the deposit at any time on written notice to the bank.3
- When a designation takes effect
A change is not effective until it has been entered into the bank's account information system, even after all paperwork is signed and delivered.2
- A designation and a will
Named beneficiaries override instructions in a will.3
- Powers of attorney over a living owner's account
The bank may require an agent under a power of attorney to provide current government-issued identification and identifying information, including the agent's Social Security number, before adding the agent to the account.2
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Loan
For a home equity line of credit on a home held in a trust, the HELOC application checklist asks for a copy of the full revocable trust agreement and any amendments.5
What Associated Bank says about trust accounts2
- Whether a new account is opened
Ownership of an account may be transferred only with the bank's written consent, and the bank may require that the account be closed and a new account opened in the trust's name rather than retitled.2
- Review of the trust document
The terms of the trust agreement, agency agreement or court order by which the account is opened govern the account, and the bank has the right to review that document and keep a copy on file.2
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Associated Trust Company, N.A.
Fiduciary services: estate settlement, guardianship and conservatorship, and irrevocable trust accounts6
Phone: 1-800-431-4649
Not in Associated Bank's published guidance1
- A beneficiary form to download, for deposit accounts
Sources6
- 1.Retirement Plan Services
- 2.Deposit Account Agreement
- 3.POD beneficiary designations
- 4.Contact
- 5.HELOC application checklist
- 6.Associated Bank Wealth Services guidance
Sources
(3)·
Data sourced from Associated Bank primary sources (27 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Associated Bank instructions
A printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details, verified against Associated Bank primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Associated Bank estate support
Trust & Estate Administration (Associated Bank Private Wealth)
Phone
Private Banking
Associated Investment Services Guidance Center
Business Customer Care (Estate Checking)
Website
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