How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Mountain America

A payable on death designation is available on deposit accounts: checking, savings, money market and certificates.¹

IRAs use a separate IRA beneficiary form. Beneficiaries designated on an account do not benefit from IRA funds unless separately designated to an IRA on the application.²

Mountain America states that if there are no beneficiaries named on the IRA, the account will need to go through the probate process.¹

POD designations do not apply to accounts of organizations or businesses, except that a single-member LLC may designate a beneficiary.¹

A proprietor may designate a POD beneficiary on the business account.¹

A trust may be named as POD beneficiary, using the trust name, the date it was established and its EIN.¹

When more than one POD beneficiary is named, they hold the account as joint tenants without rights of survivorship.³

A beneficiary is designated on the Membership Application or other documentation. Either owner may change a designated beneficiary by written direction to the credit union during their lifetime.³

For payable-on-death accounts. Completed by the account owner. Sent by the institution on request.^{4, 1}

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For IRAs. Completed by the account owner. Sent by the institution on request.²

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No amount is paid to a beneficiary, or to that beneficiary's heirs or successors, who is not living when the account becomes payable.³

A POD account is payable to the beneficiaries only on the death of the last surviving account owner, not the first.¹

The credit union reserves the right to require the written consent of all owners for a change of ownership.¹

Removing a joint owner does not affect any payable on death or beneficiary currently listed on the account. Removal is done on a Removal of Joint Owner Form signed by all owners, including the joint owner being removed.³

The Membership Agreement treats a multiple-party account as joint tenancy with right of survivorship unless the application specifically indicates otherwise.³

The printed Membership Application offers these ownership boxes: individual, joint account with rights of survivorship, joint account with tenants in common, trust, successor trustee(s) and custodian. It has no beneficiary line.⁴

Mountain America's Email Us form states that for security reasons it cannot discuss account details by email, and directs account questions to Member Services.⁵

IRAs and the IRA money market cannot be retitled into the trust. The trust is named as beneficiary on the IRA Designation or Change Beneficiary form instead.²

Trust accounts with an EIN are not eligible for MyStyle Checking, so a MyStyle account retitled into a trust with its own EIN moves to MyFree or MyExpress.¹

Under the bylaws, shares may be issued in a revocable or irrevocable trust. The settlor of a revocable trust must be a member in his or her own right; for an irrevocable trust the settlor or the beneficiary must be a member. The beneficiary must be named in either case.⁶

Bylaws Section 7 requires each member to hold at least one share in an account naming that member as sole or primary owner; being a joint owner is not enough. The membership page lists family of an existing member, including a surviving spouse.^{6, 7}

The Membership Application states that any change in ownership must be evidenced through a new membership application and/or a deletion of joint ownership form, so a trust account takes a new application rather than an edit.⁴

The Membership Agreement requires a trustee to be designated as such on the Membership Application and any other documentation the credit union requires. It follows the trustee's directions until it receives written notice that the role has ended and has had a reasonable time to act on it.³

Trust accounts are opened or retitled in person at a branch, not through online banking.¹

TOD and beneficiary designations and trust retitling for investment accounts held at LPL Financial¹