How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Frost
Beneficiaries are managed in branch or by phone. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by mail
There are two ways to keep your Frost 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.
Across 18 product types, Frost accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Payable on Death (POD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
Beneficiary form at Frost
Texas Uniform Single- or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form and Change of Account Ownership Form (for investment accounts).
Open the form →- Choose the ownership type (single-party with P.O.D., multiple-party with right of survivorship, community property with right of survivorship, convenience account, Totten trust, and the other options)
- Name the P.O.D. beneficiaries, which may include a trust
Required Documents
- Government-issued ID (at a financial center)
- Names of the P.O.D. beneficiaries. A trust may be named
- The trust document or a certificate of trust
- Government-issued ID for every trustee
- The trust's EIN where the trust has one
Required Documents
- Trust document or certificate of trust. Frost takes the full trust document or a certificate of trust
- Government-issued ID (for every trustee)
- Trust EIN (where the trust has one)
- Court appointment order (for a court-appointed trust)
- Change of Account Ownership Form, completed (for Frost Funds mutual fund accounts)
- New Account Application, completed (for a Frost Funds individual or joint account changed to a trust account)
- Medallion Signature Guarantee (on the Frost Funds form). The form says it may be obtained from an officer of a commercial bank or trust company, a savings and loan or savings bank, or a member firm of a domestic stock exchange
- Choose the ownership type (single-party with P.O.D., multiple-party with right of survivorship, community property with right of survivorship, convenience account, Totten trust, and the other options)
- Name the P.O.D. beneficiaries, which may include a trust
Required Documents
- Government-issued ID (at a financial center)
- Names of the P.O.D. beneficiaries. A trust may be named
- The trust document or a certificate of trust
- Government-issued ID for every trustee
- The trust's EIN where the trust has one
Required Documents
- Trust document or certificate of trust. Frost takes the full trust document or a certificate of trust
- Government-issued ID (for every trustee)
- Trust EIN (where the trust has one)
- Court appointment order (for a court-appointed trust)
- Change of Account Ownership Form, completed (for Frost Funds mutual fund accounts)
- New Account Application, completed (for a Frost Funds individual or joint account changed to a trust account)
- Medallion Signature Guarantee (on the Frost Funds form). The form says it may be obtained from an officer of a commercial bank or trust company, a savings and loan or savings bank, or a member firm of a domestic stock exchange
- Choose the ownership type (single-party with P.O.D., multiple-party with right of survivorship, community property with right of survivorship, convenience account, Totten trust, and the other options)
- Name the P.O.D. beneficiaries, which may include a trust
Required Documents
- Government-issued ID (at a financial center)
- Names of the P.O.D. beneficiaries. A trust may be named
What Frost says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Frost's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary5
- Payable-on-death account
Single-party with a P.O.D. designation is the only ownership type available for a consumer account opened online.1
A single-party account with a P.O.D. designation passes to the named beneficiaries and does not become part of the estate.2
In a Totten trust account, a beneficiary may not withdraw funds before all trustees are deceased. Ownership passes to the beneficiary on the death of the last surviving trustee.2
- Account in one name
A single-party account without a P.O.D. designation passes under the will or by intestacy.2
- Convenience account
A convenience signer has no ownership. On the owner's death the account passes under the will or by intestacy, and Frost may pay the convenience signer until it has notice of the death and a reasonable time to act.2
- Community property account
Community property with right of survivorship is a separate selection for spouses on the same form.1
- Investment account
For Frost Funds mutual fund accounts, the Change of Account Ownership Form carries a "Change of registration to a Transfer on Death (TOD) Account" option.3
Who can be named1
- A trust
A trust can be named as a P.O.D. beneficiary.1
Beneficiary forms Frost issues2
- Texas Uniform Single- or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form
Completed by the account owner, at a Frost financial center. Provided at a branch.1
- Change of Account Ownership Form
For investment accounts. Available to download.3
Return to
Mailing address: Frost Funds, P.O. Box 219009, Kansas City, MO 64121-9009 (overnight: Frost Funds c/o DST Systems, 430 W. 7th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105)
What Frost's agreement says about beneficiaries2
- A designation and a will
Frost's notice says "the type of account you select may determine how property passes on your death" and "your will may not control the disposition of funds held in some of the following accounts."1
- Changing or revoking a designation
Every ownership type other than single-party with a P.O.D. designation, and any change to an existing account's ownership type, is handled at a Frost financial center.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Investment account
Frost Funds mutual fund accounts move to a trust on the Change of Account Ownership Form, a Frost Funds transfer-agent form processed by DST Systems.3
Besides the individual-or-joint-to-trust option, the form carries a "Change the Trustee on a Trust Account" option and a "Change of Ownership on a Trust Account" option.3
Trust account forms Frost issues1
- Change of Account Ownership Form
For investment accounts. Available to download.3
Return to
Mailing address: Frost Funds, P.O. Box 219009, Kansas City, MO 64121-9009 (overnight: Frost Funds c/o DST Systems, 430 W. 7th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105)
What Frost says about trust accounts1
- Review of the trust document
Frost's Deposit Account Agreement says Frost acts only as custodian of trust funds and does not act as trustee or inquire into the trustee's powers or duties. The trustees indemnify Frost against claims by beneficiaries or other trustees arising from how the account is handled.2
For Frost Funds accounts, the form notes that requests carrying a Medallion Signature Guarantee are reviewed under the fund's Paperless Legal Program and may not require additional documentation.3
Not in Frost's published guidance1
- A general change-of-ownership form, for deposit accounts
Sources4
- 1.Account selection and P.O.D. notice
- 2.Deposit Account Agreement
- 3.Change of Account Ownership Form
- 4.Frost financial center guidance
Sources
Data sourced from Frost primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Frost instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Frost primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Frost estate support
Frost wealth advisors (trust, estate, and fiduciary services)
Phone
Website
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