How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Bangor Savings
Beneficiaries are managed in branch, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken in branch, by phone or by mail
Preparing your Bangor Savings accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
Bangor Savings has 15 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 Bangor Savings
IRA Beneficiary Designation form (for IRAs) and Beneficiary designation form.
- For deposit accounts: request POD (Payable on Death) designation with beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship
- For IRA accounts: complete the IRA Beneficiary Designation form with primary and contingent beneficiary sections
- Account number(s) for the accounts to be updated
- Identity verification information as requested by the representative
- Full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship for each beneficiary
- Allocation percentages for multiple beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's date of birth (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's Social Security number (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's relationship to you (for each beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Account numbers for the accounts to be updated (by phone)
- Allocation percentages (on a mailed form, when naming more than one beneficiary)
- IRA Beneficiary Designation form, completed (for an IRA)
- Copy of the Certification of Trust (when naming a trust). May be required
- Certification of Trust or complete trust agreement
- Trust Tax Identification Number (EIN) or Social Security number if using the grantor SSN
- Trust name exactly as it appears in the trust document
- EIN or SSN for the trust
- Trustee names and contact information
Required Documents
- Certification of Trust or the full trust agreement. A Certification of Trust (also called Trust Abstract or Affidavit of Trust); if there is none, a complete copy of the trust agreement
- Government-issued photo ID (for all trustees)
- Social Security number or Tax Identification Number (EIN) for the trust
- Amendments to the trust agreement (if there are any)
- Death certificates (if a grantor or trustee is deceased)
- For deposit accounts: request POD (Payable on Death) designation with beneficiary full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship
- For IRA accounts: complete the IRA Beneficiary Designation form with primary and contingent beneficiary sections
- Account number(s) for the accounts to be updated
- Identity verification information as requested by the representative
- Full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship for each beneficiary
- Allocation percentages for multiple beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's date of birth (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's Social Security number (for each beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's relationship to you (for each beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Account numbers for the accounts to be updated (by phone)
- Allocation percentages (on a mailed form, when naming more than one beneficiary)
- IRA Beneficiary Designation form, completed (for an IRA)
- Copy of the Certification of Trust (when naming a trust). May be required
What Bangor Savings says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Bangor Savings's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary3
- Payable-on-death account
A POD or ITF designation is made on the account signature card or form. The agreement says the bank makes "no representations as to the appropriateness or effect of the ownership and beneficiary designations, if any, specified on your account records, except as they determine to whom we pay account funds."1
POD and ITF designations are not available on Maine ABLE Benefit Checking.2
- Fiduciary account
POD and ITF designations are not available on any fiduciary account.2
- IRA
The IRA Beneficiary Designation form has primary and contingent beneficiary sections.2
Who can be named1
- A trust
A trust can be named as beneficiary. A trust beneficiary designation may require a copy of the Certification of Trust.2
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
The agreement pays POD and ITF funds "in equal shares to the person(s) then living who are named as beneficiary(ies)." A Bangor deposit-account POD has no percentage allocation.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- Payable-on-death account
Under the agreement, the owner is solely responsible for meeting applicable state-law titling requirements for a POD or ITF account.1
- All accounts
Under the agreement's "Reliance on Correctly Completed Documentation/Forms" clause, if a maintenance form is incomplete, incorrect, unsigned, missing or otherwise defective and the bank cannot collect corrective paperwork, it will revert the maintenance, or close the account and mail the funds to the registered owner.1
Beneficiary forms Bangor Savings issues2
- IRA Beneficiary Designation form
For IRAs. Sent by the institution on request.2
Return to
Mailing address: Bangor Savings Bank, P.O. Box 930, Bangor, ME 04402
- Beneficiary designation form
Sent by the institution on request.2
Return to
Mailing address: Bangor Savings Bank, P.O. Box 930, Bangor, ME 04402
What Bangor Savings's agreement says about beneficiaries2
- Who can see the designation
The bank has no obligation to notify a beneficiary that the account exists or that an interest has vested.1
- Powers of attorney over a living owner's account
An authorized signer is not permitted on Bangor personal accounts, so during the owner's life the only agent is someone holding a power of attorney. That authority ends when the bank receives a certified death certificate.1
Which accounts a trust can hold2
- Trust account
Bangor Savings Bank accepts both revocable and irrevocable trusts for deposit accounts.2
- IRA
IRA accounts cannot be retitled to a trust.2
Trust account forms Bangor Savings issues1
- Trust account application
Sent by the institution on request.2
Return to
Mailing address: Bangor Savings Bank, P.O. Box 930, Bangor, ME 04402
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- Bangor Wealth Management
Professional trust administration, including serving as trustee or co-trustee2
- Bangor Wealth Management of New Hampshire LLC
A subsidiary offering access to New Hampshire trust and tax laws2
Not in Bangor Savings's published guidance1
- An online way to name a beneficiary
Sources2
- 1.Important Information About Your Account
- 2.Bangor Savings Bank branch and phone guidance
Sources
(1)·
Data sourced from Bangor Savings primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Bangor Savings instructions
A printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details, verified against Bangor Savings primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Bangor Savings estate support
Bangor Wealth Management (Trust & Estate Planning)
Phone
Trust & Estate Planning page line
Bangor Wealth Management, Portland
Bangor Wealth Management, Augusta
Bangor Wealth Management of New Hampshire
Fax
Mailing address
Website
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