How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at EECU

POD designations are available on deposit accounts: savings, checking, money market and certificates.¹

A POD account is payable on the death of the last surviving account holder to the named payees. Payment to any surviving POD payee discharges EECU from liability to the other payees.²

The Account Opening Agreement states that a POD designation is ineffective on an Individual Retirement Account. An IRA passes only by its own beneficiary designation.¹

Members can name a trust as POD payee on personal deposit accounts.²

Each beneficiary's percentage allocation is given, totaling 100% within each tier, primary and contingent.²

If more than one HSA beneficiary is named and no percentages are entered, the form deems them to own equal shares. More beneficiaries than the ten name blocks allow go on an attached addendum sheet.³

All account owners must sign the deposit beneficiary designation.²

The HSA form requires the owner's signature and a witness signature. A married owner naming anyone other than or in addition to the spouse has the spouse sign the Consent of Spouse section when the trust or the owner's residence is in a community or marital property state.³

The consenting spouse acknowledges having received "a fair and reasonable disclosure of my spouse's property and financial obligations" and relinquishes any interest in the HSA. An unmarried owner acknowledges that a later marriage means revisiting spousal consent.³

For health savings accounts. Completed by the account owner. Available to download.³

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For payable-on-death accounts. Sent by the institution on request.⁴

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For IRAs. Sent by the institution on request.⁴

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Beneficiary designations on IRA and HSA accounts supersede instructions in a will or trust.²

The HSA form states that if no beneficiary is named, the owner's estate becomes the beneficiary.³

Under the HSA form, a beneficiary who dies first loses their interest completely and the remaining beneficiaries' shares increase pro rata. Nothing passes through to that beneficiary's own children.³

A new HSA designation overrides all previous ones: the form states "This beneficiary designation overrides all previous designations for this HSA" and has the owner revoke all prior designations.³

EECU offers formal trust accounts for revocable living trusts. A trust account means any account maintained or opened by or in the name of any revocable trust.¹

The trustees own the account in proportion to their net contributions, and a trustee may withdraw funds. A beneficiary may not withdraw until all trustees are deceased.¹

EECU may release trust-account funds on the signature of any one trustee or successor trustee, and payment to or at the direction of any one of them discharges EECU from liability.¹

On the death of the last surviving trustee, ownership passes to the trust beneficiary and the account does not pass under the trustee's will or by intestacy.¹

The agreement makes one exception: "unless the trustee survives all of the beneficiaries and all other trustees," in which case the balance falls back into the trustee's estate.¹

EECU acts solely as a depository on a trust account, with no fiduciary responsibility or obligation beyond the agreement. The trustees indemnify EECU for claims arising out of the trust account.¹

EECU may condition acceptance of a revocable trust account on its membership requirements.²

Certificates are nontransferable, so a certificate is usually reopened in the trust's name at maturity rather than retitled mid-term.²

Corporate trustee and fiduciary services, including connecting members with local attorneys for an estate plan⁵