How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Mascoma Bank

POD designations cover deposit accounts only: checking, savings, money market and certificates. The designation is completed at a branch.¹

An IRA or IRA certificate takes a separate retirement-account beneficiary form. Updating a deposit POD does not update an IRA beneficiary, and vice versa.²

An HSA passes by beneficiary designation and cannot be titled to a trust.³

Where a trust is the intended taker of an IRA or IRA certificate, the trust is named on the beneficiary form.¹

Where a trust is the intended taker of an HSA, the trust is named on the beneficiary form.¹

Every living account owner signs the designation. On a joint account that means both owners; a joint account cannot be changed by one owner alone.¹

The beneficiary does not need to be present or to sign, except a consenting spouse on the HSA form. Free notary service is available at most branches, to customers and non-customers alike, if the paperwork needs it.¹

A married HSA owner naming anyone other than the spouse as primary beneficiary needs the spouse's signature on the form's Spousal Consent section. A witness signs where required, and the witness cannot be a beneficiary of the HSA.³

For health savings accounts. Available to download.³

For IRAs. Provided at a branch.²

The HSA form states that if no beneficiary is designated, or all named beneficiaries die first, the HSA is paid to the owner's estate.³

The deposit account agreement addresses an owner's death through its joint-survivorship rule (section 1.7(b)) and its waiver of the CD early-withdrawal penalty.⁵

Checking, savings, money market and certificates can be titled to a trust. Mascoma states its personal checking and savings accounts may be used for estates, trusts and guardianships, so the trust account is opened on the existing product line.¹

IRAs and IRA certificates cannot be retitled to a trust. Where a trust is the intended taker, the trust is named on the beneficiary form instead.¹

HSAs cannot be retitled to a trust. Where a trust is the intended taker, the trust is named on the beneficiary form instead.¹

Sent by the institution on request.⁶

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Trust accounts are not opened online. The account-opening application carries a trust ownership type, but it is switched off on every product, so every trust account is opened through a banker.⁶

Section 1.28 of the deposit account agreement lets Mascoma require you to close the existing account and open a new one whenever ownership changes.⁵

The deposit account agreement states that on a certificate you may have to pay the early withdrawal penalty when you close it to change ownership.⁵

The published penalty for closing a CD early is all interest earned on a 7-day or 1-month term, and up to ten months of interest on a 1-to-2-year term.¹

The account-opening application models three trust variants: Revocable with the grantor's SSN, Revocable with an EIN, and Irrevocable with an EIN.⁶

Bounce Protection is not offered on trust-titled accounts. The Fee Schedule states it is not available for Trust, Escrow, UGTMA, Estates, Government and State Accounts.⁷

Beneficiary designations on wealth management, private banking and trust accounts¹

Mascoma Bank serving as trustee or co-trustee, and help with account titling and beneficiary designation changes⁸