How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at ConnectOne

ConnectOne calls its deposit beneficiary account an "In Trust For or Payable on Death" account, and Section 14 of its Deposit Account Agreement sets the rules.¹

A POD designation is not available on a business account.²

An IRA beneficiary is named on the IRA paperwork, separately from a POD designation on a deposit account.²

An account can have up to four beneficiaries. Two or more surviving beneficiaries own the account in equal shares without right of survivorship, unless otherwise indicated.^{2, 1}

Named beneficiaries are treated as primary unless the form indicates contingent, so a beneficiary meant as a backup shares equally unless the owner says otherwise.¹

Completed by the account owner, with a bank representative. Provided at a branch.²

Under Section 14, the beneficiary acquires the right to withdraw only if all of the trustees on the account die and the beneficiary is then living.¹

If every named beneficiary dies before the owner, the designation ends and the money vests back in the owner, passing through the estate.¹

The beneficiary "is only entitled to the amount that is in the trust after all of the trustee's(s') outstanding debits and items have been paid."¹

The owner may change beneficiaries at any time by written direction to the bank and may withdraw the deposit at any time. A withdrawal revokes the designation as to the amount withdrawn.¹

Section 10 of the Deposit Account Agreement places multiple-party, trust and POD accounts under New Jersey's Multiple Party Deposit Account Act.¹

Customers who apply for an account online have their own ConnectOne Bank application portal, where they can request to add beneficiaries. The portal route is open only to them.²

Under Section 18, an authorized signer or agent "has no ownership or rights at death unless named as a Payable on Death beneficiary or named as an In Trust For beneficiary." The death of the sole or last surviving party ends the agent's authority.¹

A trust account cannot be opened online. The FAQ answers "No. To open an account under a trust, please visit one of our banking offices."²

Section 15 of the Deposit Account Agreement makes a fiduciary or custodial account "subject to applicable law as adopted by the state in which the account is opened."¹

Under Section 15, "the documents that authorize the custodianship may be required for the account."¹