How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at KEMBA
Beneficiaries are managed in branch, by phone or by mail. Trust paperwork is taken in branch
Estate planning at KEMBA means getting each account set up so it transfers automatically when you die—either through a POD beneficiary or trust ownership. Because KEMBA is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Without one of these in place, accounts may require probate before your family can access the funds.
KEMBA offers 17 accounts, each with its own transfer rules. The sections below cover how to set up beneficiaries, fund a trust, and which products support each approach.
Beneficiary form at KEMBA
Beneficiary Designation Form and IRA beneficiary designation form (for IRAs).
- Bring government-issued photo ID
- Ask to add or update the POD (Payable on Death) designation on your deposit accounts
- Expect to sign a document: section 30 of the Membership Agreement lets KEMBA require a signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request, or other document it accepts
- Beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- For a trust as beneficiary, provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- State the share you want each beneficiary to take and confirm the branch has documented it, because section 4 defaults to equal shares
- Verify your identity with account information
- Ask for a POD beneficiary designation update, or for the IRA beneficiary designation form if the account is an IRA
- Provide the beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Ask whether KEMBA will require a signed Account Change Card or Member Services Request before the change is recorded (section 30)
- Enter the beneficiary legal name, relationship, Social Security number, date of birth, and the share each beneficiary takes
- Sign and date the form
- Mail it to KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name, address, date of birth and Social Security number
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust as beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request or other document (where KEMBA requires one to record the change)
- Section 5: "For Revocable and Living Trust accounts, the establishing individual (the “Settlor”) must be a member of the Credit Union."
- If the settlor is not yet a member, open membership: eligibility runs through 14 Central Ohio counties, 175+ partner employers, or family of a member
- Bring the trust document or a Certificate of Trust — section 5 opens "Trust accounts opened by the Credit Union must be accompanied by Trust documentation acceptable to us"
- Bring government-issued ID for every trustee
- Provide the trust tax identification number (EIN or SSN)
- A branch representative retitles existing accounts into the trust name
- Revoke any existing POD designation on the account first — section 4 closes with "This paragraph does not apply to an account held on behalf of or in the name of a trust"
- Section 5: "Withdrawals and pledges of shares against loans may be made by any Trustee acting alone unless otherwise required"
- Section 5: "Upon the death of one Trustee, all rights in and to the account shall belong to the surviving Trustee(s)"
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust. Section 5 requires "Trust documentation acceptable to us". A full trust agreement (revocable living trust, irrevocable trust, special needs trust) or a Certificate of Trust is accepted
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee)
- Trust Employer Identification Number (EIN) or SSN
- Amendments to the trust document
- Bring government-issued photo ID
- Ask to add or update the POD (Payable on Death) designation on your deposit accounts
- Expect to sign a document: section 30 of the Membership Agreement lets KEMBA require a signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request, or other document it accepts
- Beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- For a trust as beneficiary, provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- State the share you want each beneficiary to take and confirm the branch has documented it, because section 4 defaults to equal shares
- Verify your identity with account information
- Ask for a POD beneficiary designation update, or for the IRA beneficiary designation form if the account is an IRA
- Provide the beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Ask whether KEMBA will require a signed Account Change Card or Member Services Request before the change is recorded (section 30)
- Enter the beneficiary legal name, relationship, Social Security number, date of birth, and the share each beneficiary takes
- Sign and date the form
- Mail it to KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name, address, date of birth and Social Security number
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust as beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request or other document (where KEMBA requires one to record the change)
- Section 5: "For Revocable and Living Trust accounts, the establishing individual (the “Settlor”) must be a member of the Credit Union."
- If the settlor is not yet a member, open membership: eligibility runs through 14 Central Ohio counties, 175+ partner employers, or family of a member
- Bring the trust document or a Certificate of Trust — section 5 opens "Trust accounts opened by the Credit Union must be accompanied by Trust documentation acceptable to us"
- Bring government-issued ID for every trustee
- Provide the trust tax identification number (EIN or SSN)
- A branch representative retitles existing accounts into the trust name
- Revoke any existing POD designation on the account first — section 4 closes with "This paragraph does not apply to an account held on behalf of or in the name of a trust"
- Section 5: "Withdrawals and pledges of shares against loans may be made by any Trustee acting alone unless otherwise required"
- Section 5: "Upon the death of one Trustee, all rights in and to the account shall belong to the surviving Trustee(s)"
Required Documents
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust. Section 5 requires "Trust documentation acceptable to us". A full trust agreement (revocable living trust, irrevocable trust, special needs trust) or a Certificate of Trust is accepted
- Government-issued photo ID (for every trustee)
- Trust Employer Identification Number (EIN) or SSN
- Amendments to the trust document
- Bring government-issued photo ID
- Ask to add or update the POD (Payable on Death) designation on your deposit accounts
- Expect to sign a document: section 30 of the Membership Agreement lets KEMBA require a signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request, or other document it accepts
- Beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- For a trust as beneficiary, provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- State the share you want each beneficiary to take and confirm the branch has documented it, because section 4 defaults to equal shares
- Verify your identity with account information
- Ask for a POD beneficiary designation update, or for the IRA beneficiary designation form if the account is an IRA
- Provide the beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Ask whether KEMBA will require a signed Account Change Card or Member Services Request before the change is recorded (section 30)
- Enter the beneficiary legal name, relationship, Social Security number, date of birth, and the share each beneficiary takes
- Sign and date the form
- Mail it to KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name, address, date of birth and Social Security number
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust as beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request or other document (where KEMBA requires one to record the change)
- Bring government-issued photo ID
- Ask to add or update the POD (Payable on Death) designation on your deposit accounts
- Expect to sign a document: section 30 of the Membership Agreement lets KEMBA require a signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request, or other document it accepts
- Beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- For a trust as beneficiary, provide the trust name, date established, and EIN
- State the share you want each beneficiary to take and confirm the branch has documented it, because section 4 defaults to equal shares
- Verify your identity with account information
- Ask for a POD beneficiary designation update, or for the IRA beneficiary designation form if the account is an IRA
- Provide the beneficiary legal name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number
- Ask whether KEMBA will require a signed Account Change Card or Member Services Request before the change is recorded (section 30)
- Enter the beneficiary legal name, relationship, Social Security number, date of birth, and the share each beneficiary takes
- Sign and date the form
- Mail it to KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's legal name, address, date of birth and Social Security number
- Trust name, date established and EIN (for a trust as beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a branch)
- Signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request or other document (where KEMBA requires one to record the change)
What KEMBA says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is KEMBA's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary4
- Payable-on-death account
A POD designation is available on deposit accounts under section 4 of the Membership Agreement.1
- IRA
A POD or trust designation does not apply to IRAs. An IRA beneficiary form is required instead.1
- Trust account
Section 4 does not apply to an account held on behalf of or in the name of a trust. Section 5 governs a trust-titled account.1
- Investment account
Beneficiaries on investment accounts are recorded by LPL Financial through KEMBA Wealth Management, not by the credit union.2
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
Where more than one POD payee survives, they own the funds jointly in equal shares without rights of survivorship unless state law provides otherwise or KEMBA has documented a different split.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
KEMBA may require a signed Account Change Card, Member Services Request or other document before it records a change.1
Beneficiary forms KEMBA issues2
What KEMBA's agreement says about beneficiaries2
- Changing or revoking a designation
Under section 40, KEMBA may approve or deny a change in beneficiaries where it suspects financial exploitation of a vulnerable or elder adult.1
- Whether beneficiaries are told they are named
Section 4 says KEMBA is not obligated to notify any payee of the existence of an account or the vesting of that payee's interest.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Investment account
KEMBA Wealth Management investment accounts are retitled separately through LPL Financial.2
What KEMBA says about trust accounts5
- Membership
Section 5 says: "For Revocable and Living Trust accounts, the establishing individual (the “Settlor”) must be a member of the Credit Union."1
- Who signs for the trust
Section 5 says: "Withdrawals and pledges of shares against loans may be made by any Trustee acting alone unless otherwise required".1
- Successor trustees
Section 5 says: "Upon the death of one Trustee, all rights in and to the account shall belong to the surviving Trustee(s)". If a trustee is adjudicated incompetent or is unable or unwilling to serve, the trust documentation determines the successor trustee.1
- The institution's right to refuse a designation or an account title
Under section 30, KEMBA can refuse an instruction if following it might expose the credit union to claims.1
- Indemnity the owner or a trustee gives
Under section 30, KEMBA can require indemnification or a bond before following an instruction that might expose the credit union to claims.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- LPL Financial
KEMBA Wealth Management investment accounts and IRAs2
Not in KEMBA's published guidance2
- A beneficiary form to download
- An online or mail-in way to retitle accounts into a trust
Sources3
- 1.General Membership Disclosures and Agreements, revision 5.29.26
- 2.KEMBA Wealth Management
- 3.Contact Us
Sources
Data sourced from KEMBA primary sources (24 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these KEMBA instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against KEMBA primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
KEMBA estate support
Member Services
Phone
Toll-free
Loss Prevention (lost/stolen card or fraud)
Locked digital banking account
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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