Preparing your Georgia's Own accounts for estate transfer involves two key steps: designating beneficiaries on each account and, where appropriate, retitling accounts into a trust. Because Georgia's Own 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.

With 16 product types, Georgia's Own offers a range of transfer options. Some accounts support Payable on Death (POD) designations, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.

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1Visit any Georgia's Own branch location (30+ locations throughout Georgia)

2Request the POD beneficiary form (for deposit accounts) or IRA beneficiary form (for IRAs)

3Provide each beneficiary's full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and relationship

4Specify primary and contingent beneficiaries with percentage allocations

5All account owners must sign the form

6Submit the signed form to the branch representative

Required Documents

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

Special Requirements

Per Georgia's Own Membership Agreement, POD and trust beneficiary designations do not apply to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs); IRA accounts use a separate beneficiary designation process
When an account owner dies, account interest passes to surviving POD beneficiaries subject to applicable Georgia law
IRA beneficiary designations supersede instructions in a will or trust
If a legal trust is the named beneficiary, this designation supersedes any individually named beneficiaries and payment is made in full to the legal trust
In Georgia, corporations (including charitable nonprofit corporations) cannot be named as POD beneficiaries on a bank or credit union account
Changes to beneficiary designations must be submitted in writing