How your GE Credit Union accounts transfer at death depends on how each one is set up. As a membership-based credit union, GE Credit Union headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio at 10485 Reading Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45241. 14 branches across Ohio and Kentucky. Membership open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in eligible counties: OH (Adams, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Delaware, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Highland, Licking, Logan, Madison, Miami, Montgomery, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Union, Warren); KY (Boone, Bourbon, Campbell, Fayette, Grant, Harrison, Kenton, Pendleton, Scott); IN (Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Switzerland, Union). Also open to employees of Select Employer Groups (SEGs) and immediate family of current members. With 15 account types, the transfer rules vary—getting the right designations in place now prevents delays and court involvement later.

GE Credit Union handles beneficiary designations in branch, by mail, and by phone. Accounts can also be retitled into a trust to keep them out of probate entirely.

There are two sides to estate planning at GE Credit Union: setting things up while you're alive, and the process survivors follow after a death.

Preparing your estate

Beneficiaries and trust funding

How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 15 account types at GE Credit Union.

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When someone dies

Death claim process

3-step process, 5 required documents, and contact information for survivors.

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GE Credit Union is not available nationwide. Estate planning procedures may vary by state, so confirm that your location is served before making account changes.

Frequently asked questions

If you name a beneficiary other than your spouse on a GECU account, your spouse must also sign the beneficiary designation form, and the spouse's signature must be notarized. This spousal-consent rule applies to both POD designations on deposit accounts and beneficiary designations on IRAs. If your spouse is the only named beneficiary, no additional signature or notarization is required. This is stricter than many credit unions and is enforced on the GECU paper form, not just at the branch.

Yes for checking, savings, money market, and certificate accounts. Visit any branch with your full trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, government-issued photo ID for all trustees, and the trust tax identification number (EIN for irrevocable trusts; grantor SSN for revocable trusts). IRA accounts cannot be retitled to a trust at any institution, but you can name a trust as the IRA beneficiary. Note that at least one trustee on the trust-titled account must independently qualify for GECU membership (live, work, worship, or attend school in an eligible OH / KY / IN county, or be a Select Employer Group member or family of an existing member).

Yes. GECU members can use Legal Services, delivered through the law firm of Wood + Lamping LLP by way of CUSO Corp. (a credit union service organization wholly owned by GECU) out of the Reading Road office. The initial consultation is at no cost to scope the work, and special member rates may apply if you move forward. The estate planning work covers wills, trusts, and related strategies such as using an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) to keep life insurance proceeds out of your taxable estate. Reach Legal Services at 513-243-8300. SimplyTrust is not affiliated with GECU or Wood + Lamping; consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Membership is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in an eligible county across Southwest Ohio (28 counties including Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Clermont, Franklin, Montgomery), Northern Kentucky (Boone, Bourbon, Campbell, Fayette, Grant, Harrison, Kenton, Pendleton, Scott), or Southeast Indiana (Dearborn, Franklin, Ohio, Switzerland, Union). Employees of Select Employer Groups and immediate family of current members also qualify. For a trust-titled account, at least one trustee must independently meet one of these eligibility paths. Full list: https://www.gecreditunion.org/about/gecu/who-we-are/membership-eligibility.