How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Gate City
Beneficiaries are managed in branch. Trust paperwork is taken in branch
Estate planning for your Gate City 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.
Gate City has 15 product types, and the estate transfer rules differ across them. Some support Payable on Death (POD) designations, some can be retitled into a trust, and others pass through the estate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Primary or contingent designation
- Percentage allocation if naming more than one beneficiary
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID (at a location)
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Primary or contingent designation for each beneficiary
- Percentage allocation (if naming more than one beneficiary)
- Certification of Trust or the full trust agreement
- Government-issued identification for every trustee who will sign
- The trust's taxpayer identification number
- New account records in the name of the trust
- IRS Form W-9 carrying the trust's reporting number
- Identifying information for each trustee, per Section 1 of the Terms and Conditions
Required Documents
- Certification of Trust or full trust agreement. Either is accepted
- Government-issued ID (for every trustee who will sign)
- Identifying information for each trustee. Section 1 of the Terms and Conditions calls for it
- Trust taxpayer identification number
- Completed IRS Form W-9. It carries the trust's reporting number
- New account records in the name of the trust (signed at the location)
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Primary or contingent designation
- Percentage allocation if naming more than one beneficiary
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID (at a location)
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number
- Primary or contingent designation for each beneficiary
- Percentage allocation (if naming more than one beneficiary)
What Gate City says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Gate City's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
Section 7 of the Terms and Conditions of Your Account recognizes a single-party account, a multiple-party account, and either of those with a pay-on-death designation.1
The designation is made with a banker on the account records. Section 7 says the rules that apply "depend on the form of ownership and beneficiary designation, if any, specified on the account records."1
- IRA
IRAs are designated separately from deposit accounts. A pay-on-death designation on a checking or savings account does not carry to an IRA.2
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- All accounts
Each beneficiary is recorded as primary or contingent, with a percentage allocation when more than one beneficiary is named.2
What Gate City's agreement says about beneficiaries3
- A designation and a will
At the death of a single-party account holder with a pay-on-death designation, ownership passes to the designated beneficiaries and is not part of the party's estate (Terms, Section 8).1
- Joint accounts
On a multiple-party account with right of survivorship and a pay-on-death designation, the POD beneficiaries take only at the death of the last surviving party. Naming a POD beneficiary does not cut a joint owner out.1
On a multiple-party account without right of survivorship, the deceased party's ownership passes as part of that party's estate, so the account can go through probate even though it has two names on it.1
- Changing or revoking a designation
Owners may change the designation at any time while living.1
Which accounts a trust can hold2
- Trust account
Section 30 of the Terms and Conditions says an account "may be opened and maintained by a person or persons named as a trustee under a written trust agreement."1
The Preferred Perks Benefits and Disclosures document says its benefit package is "not available to a 'signer' on the account who is not an account owner or to businesses, clubs, trusts, organizations and/or churches and their members."3
A Preferred Perks Checking account retitled to a trust keeps the deposit and loses IDProtect, telehealth, eVets and the health discount savings. Naming the trust as pay-on-death beneficiary instead keeps both.3
- IRA
An IRA is left out of the retitling. It passes by beneficiary designation, and a trust can be named there instead.1
What Gate City says about trust accounts1
- Review of the trust document
Section 30 says that "by merely opening such an account, we are not acting in the capacity of a trustee in connection with the trust nor do we undertake any obligation to monitor or enforce the terms of the trust."1
Section 30 also says the bank is "not responsible for the actions of a fiduciary, including the misuse of funds."1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Gate City Investment Services
Investment services, through advisors licensed with LPL Financial4
Not in Gate City's published guidance4
- An online way to name a beneficiary
- A beneficiary form to download
- A mail channel for a beneficiary designation
- An online or mail channel for a trust retitling
Sources
(2)·
Data sourced from Gate City primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Gate City instructions
A printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details, verified against Gate City primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Gate City estate support
Gate City Investment Services (financial and estate planning; securities through LPL Financial)
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