How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Bank of Hawaii
Covers 20 deposit, 1 investment, 2 retirement, and 2 lending accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, per DDA-721 Section B.9); headquarters at 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
The Private Bank (estate planning, trust services, and financial planning; the survivor guide also refers to "estate settlement and trustee services"). The Private Bank publishes no direct phone or department mailing address — its contact page is a request form — so the numbers below are the bank's general lines.
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, DDA-721 Section B.9); main office 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813 (FDIC BankFind, cert 18053)
Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118
Bank of Hawaii, Deposit Operations #118, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846
Preparing your Bank of Hawaii 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.
With 25 product types, Bank of Hawaii offers a range of transfer options. Some accounts support Payable on Death (POD) designations, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Mailing address
- Relationship to account holder
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Bank of Hawaii publishes no downloadable beneficiary form; the Common Forms page (boh.com/customer-service/forms) carries only loan-payment, vehicle-shipping, direct-deposit, and credit-dispute forms
- The POD structure is the "Voluntary Trust (Totten Trust)" ownership type in DDA-721: the owner keeps full control for life and the beneficiary is entitled to the funds only after every owner/trustee has died
- Account owners are responsible for notifying Bank of Hawaii of any change to a beneficiary, and the bank may require a new signature card before the change becomes effective
- Named beneficiaries override your will
- Beneficiary does not need to be present
- Contact Bankoh Advisors at 808-694-8500 for investment account (TOD) beneficiary designations — those accounts are custodied by Cetera Investment Services, not the bank
- POD designations qualify for additional FDIC insurance coverage categories
- Beneficiary designation is not part of the online account-opening flow either: boh.com/landing-pages/open-bank-account-online opens Convenience Checking, EASE, Bankohana Level I, Bankohana Premier, Regular Savings, Bonus Rate Savings, and the two Bankohana Bonus Rate Savings accounts, with no ownership-type or beneficiary step
- A Bankohana or Bankohana Premier relationship does not change how the POD works, but it does change what happens after: on notice of the death of the last surviving Bankohana accountholder, Bank of Hawaii reserves the right to convert the account to another interest-bearing deposit account (Bankohana Levels I, II, and III Addendum, effective July 27, 2026), and to un-enroll Premier Linked Accounts (Bankohana Premier Addendum, DDA-770_E Rev. 07/2026)
Sources
Data sourced from Bank of Hawaii primary sources (30 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Bank of Hawaii instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Bank of Hawaii primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, per DDA-721 Section B.9); headquarters at 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813
The Private Bank (estate planning, trust services, and financial planning; the survivor guide also refers to "estate settlement and trustee services"). The Private Bank publishes no direct phone or department mailing address — its contact page is a request form — so the numbers below are the bank's general lines.
Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846 (general correspondence, DDA-721 Section B.9); main office 111 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813 (FDIC BankFind, cert 18053)
Customer Service Center (death notification); deposit accounts are settled with a banker at a branch, and account correspondence is handled by Deposit Operations #118
Bank of Hawaii, Deposit Operations #118, P.O. Box 2900, Honolulu, HI 96846
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