How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Merchants Bank of Indiana
Beneficiaries are managed online, in branch or by phone. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by phone
There are two ways to keep your Merchants Bank of Indiana accounts out of probate: adding beneficiary designations and retitling eligible accounts into a revocable living trust. Which approach works best depends on the account type and your overall estate plan.
Merchants Bank of Indiana has 8 accounts with different estate transfer rules. Here is how beneficiary designations, trust ownership, and probate apply to each one.
Beneficiary form at Merchants Bank of Indiana
Health Savings Account (HSA) Application (for health savings accounts).
Open the form →- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Social Security number, if you have it
- Address
Required Documents
- Beneficiary's full legal name
- Beneficiary's date of birth
- Beneficiary's Social Security number. At a banking center, if you have it
- Beneficiary's address
- Beneficiary's first and last name and taxpayer identification number (when the account is opened online; the number is required for a primary beneficiary)
- Government-issued photo ID (at a banking center)
- A Certification of Trust, or the full trust agreement
- The trust's tax identification number
Required Documents
- Certification of Trust or full trust agreement. Either is taken
- Trust tax identification number
- Government-issued photo ID (for each trustee)
- Trust name, execution date and acting trustees (by phone)
What Merchants Bank of Indiana says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Merchants Bank of Indiana's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
A payable-on-death beneficiary can be named on a checking, money market or CD account. On an account you already hold, Merchants records the designation on the account agreement, in person or through the contact center.1
When an account is opened online, every consumer deposit product the platform offers carries the optional "Beneficiary" service. It accepts up to six beneficiaries, each tagged primary or contingent, and a banker fulfills the request in 2-3 days.2
- Health savings account
HSA beneficiaries are designated in the "DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY" section of the bank's HSA Application, signed with a banker. The HSA cannot be opened online.3
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
The owner states the share each beneficiary should take.1
When an account is opened online, the platform accepts up to six beneficiaries, each tagged primary or contingent.2
- Health savings account
On the HSA Application, an unmarked beneficiary is deemed primary, and multiple beneficiaries with no percentages share equally.3
What a designation takes to be effective
- Payable-on-death account
The owner signs the updated account agreement or signature card. When the request is made by phone, the bank sends the signature-card update to sign.1
Beneficiary forms Merchants Bank of Indiana issues1
- Health Savings Account (HSA) Application
For health savings accounts. Available to download.3
What Merchants Bank of Indiana's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- A beneficiary who dies first
The HSA Application redistributes a predeceased beneficiary's share pro rata to the surviving beneficiaries.3
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Health savings account
A Health Savings Account cannot be retitled to a trust. It stays individually owned and passes by beneficiary designation.1
What Merchants Bank of Indiana says about trust accounts3
- Whether a new account is opened
A banker retitles the existing checking, money market or CD into the name of the trust, or opens a new trust-titled account and moves the funds.1
- Who signs for the trust
The new account agreement is signed in the name of the trust, as trustee.1
- Certificates moved into a trust
A CD moved before maturity may draw the early withdrawal penalty.1
Not in Merchants Bank of Indiana's published guidance7
- A deposit-account POD form
- A digital banking beneficiary tool
- A trust department
- A fiduciary services line
- A trust-funding page
- An online trust-retitling path
- A CD early withdrawal penalty waiver
Sources
Data sourced from Merchants Bank of Indiana primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Merchants Bank of Indiana instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Merchants Bank of Indiana primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Merchants Bank of Indiana estate support
Contact Center
Phone
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Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Merchants Bank of Indiana accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
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