Preparing your First Community CU accounts for estate transfer involves two key steps: designating beneficiaries on each account and, where appropriate, retitling accounts into a trust. Because First Community CU is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership bypass probate entirely.

First Community CU offers 14 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.

Kasasa Cash CheckingKasasa Cash Back CheckingReward CheckingKasasa SaverReward SavingsRewardPlus SavingsPremium Money Market AccountCertificate of Deposit (CD)Add-A-Buck CDMaximizer Flex CDHealth Savings Account (HSA)Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)

1Visit any First Community Credit Union branch location

2Bring government-issued photo ID

3Request a POD (Payable on Death) beneficiary designation form for deposit accounts

4For IRA accounts, request the separate IRA beneficiary designation form

5Provide each beneficiary's full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship

6Designate primary and contingent beneficiaries with percentage allocations

7Sign and submit the completed form

Required Documents

Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)

Special Requirements

POD designations available for deposit accounts (checking, savings, certificates, money market)
IRA accounts require a separate beneficiary designation; POD is not applicable to IRAs
Under North Dakota Uniform Probate Code (NDCC 30.1-31), POD designations cause funds to pass directly to surviving beneficiaries, bypassing probate
Online beneficiary designation is not available; must use branch, phone, or mail
A trust may be named as POD beneficiary on deposit accounts
NCUA coverage up to $250,000 per POD beneficiary