How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at HSBC
Covers 5 deposit, 1 investment, 2 retirement, and 2 lending accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240
Bereavement support (handled on the Premier line; HSBC publishes no separate estates department or bereavement mailing address)
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240 (general deposit correspondence; Premier clients: HSBC Premier Service Center, P.O. Box 22, Buffalo, NY 14240 -- confirm the correct address on the bereavement call)
Estate planning for your HSBC 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.
Across 10 product types, HSBC 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.
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- The Fiduciary Account Change Beneficiary Form MUST be notarized, at an HSBC Wealth Center or through an external notary service
- Beneficiary changes cannot be made online; the package is a paper form returned by mail (Attn: Account Opening, PO Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240) or delivered at a Wealth Center
- HSBC deposit beneficiaries are "In Trust For" (ITF) designations -- a tentative or Totten trust, also known as pay-on-death. The form provides no percentage field: ITF beneficiaries take in EQUAL shares
- ITF beneficiaries have no ownership or transaction ability while any account owner is living, and after the last owner dies they may only claim the funds -- the account is closed immediately once all ITF beneficiaries have claimed
- If every ITF beneficiary dies before the last account owner, the account is handled under the rules of the relevant state -- meaning it can fall back into probate
- Property passing by ITF designation is not part of the last surviving owner's estate, so it overrides the will
Sources
Data sourced from HSBC primary sources (21 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these HSBC instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against HSBC primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240
Bereavement support (handled on the Premier line; HSBC publishes no separate estates department or bereavement mailing address)
HSBC Bank USA, N.A., P.O. Box 9, Buffalo, NY 14240 (general deposit correspondence; Premier clients: HSBC Premier Service Center, P.O. Box 22, Buffalo, NY 14240 -- confirm the correct address on the bereavement call)
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