How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at City National
Beneficiaries are managed in branch or by phone. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by phone
There are two ways to keep your City National accounts out of probate: adding beneficiary designations and retitling eligible accounts into a revocable living trust. Which approach works best depends on the account type and your overall estate plan.
City National has 14 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 City National
Beneficiary Designation Form.
- Full legal name and relationship for each beneficiary
- Percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Enter beneficiary details (full legal name and relationship)
- Specify percentage allocations if naming multiple beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Full legal name of each beneficiary
- Each beneficiary's relationship to the owner (at a branch or by phone)
- Percentage for each beneficiary (when naming more than one beneficiary). Without one, the bank pays in equal shares
- Each beneficiary's location. The deposit agreement requires the owner to keep the bank informed about it
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch office)
- Trust agreement
- Trustee identification
- Trust tax ID number (EIN)
Required Documents
- Copy of the trust instrument, portions of it, or a trustee certification. Evidence of the trustee's authority, verifying who the fiduciary is, their powers, the provisions for succession and any unusual provisions. The whole trust need not be handed over
- Government-issued photo ID (for all trustees)
- Certified taxpayer identification number for the account. City National states it is required by law to obtain one when an account is opened and "may decline to open an account" without it
- Existing account statements (for the accounts to be retitled)
- Full legal name and relationship for each beneficiary
- Percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Enter beneficiary details (full legal name and relationship)
- Specify percentage allocations if naming multiple beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Full legal name of each beneficiary
- Each beneficiary's relationship to the owner (at a branch or by phone)
- Percentage for each beneficiary (when naming more than one beneficiary). Without one, the bank pays in equal shares
- Each beneficiary's location. The deposit agreement requires the owner to keep the bank informed about it
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch office)
- Trust agreement
- Trustee identification
- Trust tax ID number (EIN)
Required Documents
- Copy of the trust instrument, portions of it, or a trustee certification. Evidence of the trustee's authority, verifying who the fiduciary is, their powers, the provisions for succession and any unusual provisions. The whole trust need not be handed over
- Government-issued photo ID (for all trustees)
- Certified taxpayer identification number for the account. City National states it is required by law to obtain one when an account is opened and "may decline to open an account" without it
- Existing account statements (for the accounts to be retitled)
- Full legal name and relationship for each beneficiary
- Percentage allocation if naming multiple beneficiaries
- Enter beneficiary details (full legal name and relationship)
- Specify percentage allocations if naming multiple beneficiaries
Required Documents
- Full legal name of each beneficiary
- Each beneficiary's relationship to the owner (at a branch or by phone)
- Percentage for each beneficiary (when naming more than one beneficiary). Without one, the bank pays in equal shares
- Each beneficiary's location. The deposit agreement requires the owner to keep the bank informed about it
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch office)
What City National says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is City National's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
Who can be named1
- An entity other than a trust or a business
A beneficiary may be an organization, not only an individual.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
Multiple beneficiaries are paid in equal shares unless the owner instructs City National otherwise in writing before the owner's death, or the death of the last surviving owner.1
What a designation takes to be effective
Beneficiary forms City National issues1
- Beneficiary Designation Form
Completed by the account owner. Sent by the institution on request.2
What City National's agreement says about beneficiaries6
- A designation and a will
TOD and POD designations supersede instructions in a will or trust.1
On a brokerage TOD account, City National relies on the latest Beneficiary Designation in its possession. A will, codicil or trust cannot change the beneficiary.3
- Changing or revoking a designation
Designations can be changed or removed at any time by completing a new form.1
- What the owner keeps while living
A TOD or POD designation can be added when an account is opened or at any later time.1
An account opened in trust for another person with no written trust agreement is a Bank Account Trust (Totten Trust). The trustee owns the account outright, and the beneficiary has no interest until the last trustee dies.2
- Joint accounts
On a joint tenancy account, a POD beneficiary takes only after the last surviving joint tenant dies.1
Community property and tenancy-in-common registrations do not pass to the surviving owner automatically; the deceased owner's interest passes by will or intestacy. Both must be expressly elected on the account agreement.1
- A minor as beneficiary
If a minor is named as beneficiary, a court-appointed supervisor may be required to manage the assets until the child turns 18.1
- Whether beneficiaries are told they are named
City National is not responsible for notifying a beneficiary that the account exists or that the owner has died, and states that it may not do so.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- RBC Securities
Brokerage accounts and their TOD beneficiary designations1
Phone: 1-800-280-1464
Not in City National's published guidance1
- A beneficiary form to download
Sources
Data sourced from City National primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these City National instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against City National primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
City National estate support
Investments & Trust Services
Phone
Toll-free
Brokerage / TOD accounts (RBC Securities)
General customer service
Mailing address
Website
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