How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Chase
Beneficiaries are managed online or in branch. Trust paperwork is taken in branch
Estate planning for your Chase accounts starts with understanding how each one transfers at death. Beneficiary designations and trust retitling both bypass probate, but the right approach depends on the account type, your tax situation, and how much control you want over distributions.
Across 21 product types, Chase 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 Chase
Beneficiary designation form (for payable-on-death accounts).
- Choose the Profile & Settings icon
- Choose Investments, then Beneficiary center
- Go to Manage your beneficiaries and choose Get started
- Choose Add beneficiaries and fill out the required fields, then Next
- Confirm the beneficiary address format and choose Save
- If you designate more than one beneficiary, the percentages must total 100%
- For an individual: first and last name, phone number, and address
- For a trust or charity: name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details, and EIN. Chase points you to your state government website for the NAICS detail
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID (at the branch meeting)
- Beneficiary's first and last name, phone number and address (for an individual beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details and EIN (for a trust or charity)
- Trust agreement
- Certificate of trust
- Court order establishing the trust
- Plus, if applicable: any trust amendment, a power of attorney document, state-required documents, and a death certificate
- U.S. citizens, primary: driver's license, state ID, or U.S. passport. Secondary: credit or debit card, bank statement, or a recent pay stub or utility bill in your name
- Non-U.S. citizens, primary: passport with photo, U.S. employment authorization card, or matricula consular card. Secondary: driver's license, bank statement, or a recent pay stub or utility bill
- ID requirements are subject to change based on account or customer information; call the local branch about additional ID requirements
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or certificate of trust. A court order establishing the trust, or the will for a testamentary trust, is also accepted
- Trust amendments (where the trustees or trustee powers have changed)
- Primary and secondary government-issued ID for each U.S. citizen trustee. Each confirming a current U.S. residential address: a driver's license, state ID or U.S. passport, plus a credit or debit card, bank statement, or recent pay stub or utility bill
- Primary and secondary government-issued ID for each non-U.S. citizen trustee. Each confirming a current U.S. residential address: a passport with photo, U.S. employment authorization card or matricula consular card, plus a driver's license, bank statement, or recent pay stub or utility bill
- Trust tax identification number
- Power of attorney document, state-required documents and a death certificate (where those apply to the particular trust)
- Choose the Profile & Settings icon
- Choose Investments, then Beneficiary center
- Go to Manage your beneficiaries and choose Get started
- Choose Add beneficiaries and fill out the required fields, then Next
- Confirm the beneficiary address format and choose Save
- If you designate more than one beneficiary, the percentages must total 100%
- For an individual: first and last name, phone number, and address
- For a trust or charity: name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details, and EIN. Chase points you to your state government website for the NAICS detail
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID (at the branch meeting)
- Beneficiary's first and last name, phone number and address (for an individual beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details and EIN (for a trust or charity)
- Trust agreement
- Certificate of trust
- Court order establishing the trust
- Plus, if applicable: any trust amendment, a power of attorney document, state-required documents, and a death certificate
- U.S. citizens, primary: driver's license, state ID, or U.S. passport. Secondary: credit or debit card, bank statement, or a recent pay stub or utility bill in your name
- Non-U.S. citizens, primary: passport with photo, U.S. employment authorization card, or matricula consular card. Secondary: driver's license, bank statement, or a recent pay stub or utility bill
- ID requirements are subject to change based on account or customer information; call the local branch about additional ID requirements
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or certificate of trust. A court order establishing the trust, or the will for a testamentary trust, is also accepted
- Trust amendments (where the trustees or trustee powers have changed)
- Primary and secondary government-issued ID for each U.S. citizen trustee. Each confirming a current U.S. residential address: a driver's license, state ID or U.S. passport, plus a credit or debit card, bank statement, or recent pay stub or utility bill
- Primary and secondary government-issued ID for each non-U.S. citizen trustee. Each confirming a current U.S. residential address: a passport with photo, U.S. employment authorization card or matricula consular card, plus a driver's license, bank statement, or recent pay stub or utility bill
- Trust tax identification number
- Power of attorney document, state-required documents and a death certificate (where those apply to the particular trust)
- Choose the Profile & Settings icon
- Choose Investments, then Beneficiary center
- Go to Manage your beneficiaries and choose Get started
- Choose Add beneficiaries and fill out the required fields, then Next
- Confirm the beneficiary address format and choose Save
- If you designate more than one beneficiary, the percentages must total 100%
- For an individual: first and last name, phone number, and address
- For a trust or charity: name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details, and EIN. Chase points you to your state government website for the NAICS detail
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID (at the branch meeting)
- Beneficiary's first and last name, phone number and address (for an individual beneficiary)
- Beneficiary's name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details and EIN (for a trust or charity)
What Chase says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Chase's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary4
- Payable-on-death account
A POD beneficiary on a checking, savings or CD account is added in a branch, not online.1
Beneficiaries cannot be added to Chase First Banking or Chase High School Checking. Most other personal checking, savings and CD accounts are eligible.1
A "payable on death" (POD) account and an "in trust for" (ITF) account are separate designations. Chase says it does not offer either one in all states.2
- Business account
Beneficiaries cannot be added to business accounts.1
- Investment account
Beneficiaries on J.P. Morgan investment accounts are added or updated online in the Beneficiary center on chase.com or the Chase Mobile app.3
- IRA
IRA beneficiaries are added or updated online in the Beneficiary center on chase.com or the Chase Mobile app.3
Who can be named3
- A person
The beneficiary does not need to be a Chase customer.1
- A trust
A trust can be named. Chase asks for its name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details and EIN.1
- A charity or nonprofit
A charity can be named. Chase asks for its name, address, phone number, NAICS code, business ownership details and EIN.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
A percentage allocation can be specified in the branch when more than one beneficiary is named. Multiple beneficiaries are paid in equal shares unless Chase's records say otherwise.1
- Investment account
When more than one beneficiary is designated in the Beneficiary center, the percentages must total 100%.3
- IRA
When more than one beneficiary is designated in the Beneficiary center, the percentages must total 100%.3
What a designation takes to be effective
- Payable-on-death account
The owner reviews and signs the beneficiary designation form with the banker. The beneficiary does not need to be present.1
Beneficiary forms Chase issues1
- Beneficiary designation form
For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the account owner, with the banker. Provided at a branch.1
What Chase's agreement says about beneficiaries2
- Who can see the designation
The beneficiary cannot access or view any of the owner's account information, including account numbers, balances and transactions.1
- A designation and a will
Named beneficiaries override the owner's will.1
What Chase says about trust accounts2
- Certificates moved into a trust
The Deposit Account Agreement waives the early withdrawal penalty for "re-titling of a CD to transfer ownership of funds into a living trust without moving funds from the bank and where no change in term or rate occurs."2
- Who signs for the trust
Chase says an agent with a power of attorney may open a trust account if the trust and the power of attorney allow it.4
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
Paper TOD and IRA beneficiary forms for J.P. Morgan brokerage accounts and IRAs5, 6
- J.P. Morgan Client Welcome Group
Trust accounts for J.P. Morgan investment accounts, and J.P. Morgan corporate trustee services4
Phone: 1-800-392-5749 (press 0 to speak to a specialist)
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-9:00 PM ET
Not in Chase's published guidance1
- A beneficiary form to download, for deposit accounts
Sources6
- 1.Chase guidance on deposit-account beneficiaries
- 2.Deposit Account Agreement
- 3.Designate or update a beneficiary on desktop
- 4.Chase guidance on opening a trust bank account
- 5.Transfer on Death Agreement (J.P. Morgan Securities LLC)
- 6.IRA Beneficiary Update Request (J.P. Morgan Securities LLC)
Sources
Data sourced from Chase primary sources (29 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Chase instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Chase primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
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