How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Heritage Bank

A payable-on-death designation on a deposit account is made on the signature card.¹

An IRA uses the bank's IRA beneficiary designation paperwork, not the deposit signature card.²

A Health Savings Account has its own beneficiary designation, separate from the deposit signature card.²

On a business account, the POD path is available only if the account is titled to the individual (sole proprietorship or DBA).²

An LLC, corporate or partnership account cannot carry a POD beneficiary; what passes is the ownership interest in the entity.²

An informal "in trust for" account is treated as a Totten trust under Section 1.5: the trustee owns the account outright and the beneficiaries have no interest until the last surviving trustee dies.¹

Primary and contingent beneficiaries are designated, with distribution percentages specified when more than one beneficiary is named.²

On an "in trust for" account, the funds pass to the surviving beneficiaries in equal shares unless the trustee instructed the bank otherwise in writing.¹

All account owners must consent to beneficiary designation changes.²

The signature card must clearly designate the lifetime POD payees, designate the payees who take upon the death of all the lifetime payees, and specifically state that ownership passes to the named pay-on-death payee(s).¹

For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the account owner, with a banker. Provided at a branch.¹

Completed by the account owner, with a banker. Sent by the institution on request.²

For IRAs. Provided at a branch.²

For health savings accounts. Provided at a branch.²

A POD designation takes precedence over both a will and a trust.²

On a California marital account, both spouses should sign a beneficiary designation change.²

A sole proprietorship or DBA account can be retitled to a revocable trust because it is the owner's personal property.³

An LLC, corporate or partnership account cannot be retitled to a trust.³

Completed by the trustee, at a banking center. Provided at a branch.³

Under Section 1.6, the trustee signs the signature card and a trust certification declaring under penalty of perjury under California law that they are the only current trustee, that they are authorized to enter into the agreement, and that no other person's authorization or court order is required.¹

The certification also declares that the correct name of the trust is on the signature card and that the trust has not been revoked or amended in a way that would make those statements untrue. The bank may require a separate trust certification form.¹

The bank states that it is "not required to know, understand, interpret, or enforce the terms of any trust document".¹

The bank asks for reasonable advance notice of any trust amendment or change of trustee or beneficiary.¹

Corporate trustee services, across three California trust offices⁴