How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at First Command
Covers 9 investment, 5 retirement, and 3 deposit accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
Personal Banking
1 FirstComm Plaza, Fort Worth, TX 76109-4999
Death Claims / Financial Services
First Command, P.O. Box 2387, Fort Worth, TX 76113-2387
Estate planning for your First Command investment 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.
First Command offers 17 investment accounts, each with its own transfer rules. The sections below cover how to set up beneficiaries, fund a trust, and which products support each approach.
- Full legal name and date of birth
- Relationship to account holder
- Social Security number
- Percentage allocation
- Trust name
- Date established
- Tax ID number
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Brokerage and advisory beneficiary changes require working through a First Command Financial Advisor -- there is no online self-service designation.
- A single-owner brokerage account takes TOD beneficiaries only on the executed Individual Transfer on Death Account Agreement; a joint account uses the Joint Transfer on Death Account Agreement, and on the death of BOTH joint tenants the account passes to the TOD beneficiaries named there (Form 1902, Client Brokerage and Advisory Fee Schedule).
- If assets in the account are pledged as collateral for a debt to First Command Bank or any other creditor, the beneficiary's rights to the account are subject to that creditor's interest.
- Bank deposit accounts are Texas-law accounts: the disposition at death is set by the account type you check on the Uniform Single-Party or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form (single-party with or without P.O.D., multiple-party with or without survivorship, multiple-party with survivorship and P.O.D., or trust account), per the First Command Bank Depository Agreement and Disclosures.
- A convenience signer on a bank account may transact during your lifetime but owns nothing at your death unless separately named as a P.O.D. payee or trust account beneficiary.
- On a bank trust account, a beneficiary may not withdraw funds until all trustees are deceased; ownership then passes to the beneficiary outside the trustee's will.
- IRA beneficiaries are designated on the IRA beneficiary form, separately from any brokerage TOD designation or bank account selection form.
- Tenants-in-common accounts: deceased owner's share passes via will or intestate succession.
- Tenants by the entireties: surviving spouse inherits the entire account by operation of law.
- Named beneficiaries override your will.
- First Command Bank has only one branch (1 FirstComm Plaza, Fort Worth, TX); in-person service otherwise means your Financial Advisor's office on or near your installation.
Sources
Data sourced from First Command primary sources (22 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these First Command instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against First Command primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Personal Banking
1 FirstComm Plaza, Fort Worth, TX 76109-4999
Death Claims / Financial Services
First Command, P.O. Box 2387, Fort Worth, TX 76113-2387
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