How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at M&T Bank
Covers 8 deposit, 2 retirement, and 2 lending accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
Customer Service
PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
Estate Administration Services / Wilmington Trust
M&T Bank Estate Services, PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
Estate Services
M&T Bank Estate Services, PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
Preparing your M&T Bank accounts for estate transfer involves two primary strategies: designating beneficiaries on individual accounts and, where supported, retitling accounts into a revocable living trust. Both approaches bypass probate, but they work differently depending on the account type.
Across 12 product types, M&T Bank 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.
- Provide primary and contingent beneficiary information including full legal name, date of birth, and relationship
- For trusts as beneficiary: provide the trust name, date established, and Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Specify percentage allocations for each beneficiary (must total 100%)
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- M&T publishes no self-service POD designation online and no downloadable POD form for deposit accounts. Beneficiaries are added on the account documents at a branch, or by calling 1-800-724-2440 (24/7) to be routed to the paperwork required.
- The one M&T beneficiary form published publicly is the HSA Designation of Beneficiary at https://asset.mtb.com/documents/pdf/hsa-designation-beneficiary.pdf, and it covers only the Health Savings Account.
- PENNSYLVANIA TITLING RULE: per M&T's account-opening form BR-1009 (https://asset.mtb.com/documents/html/BR-1009.pdf), an account opened in Pennsylvania in the names of two or more individuals is, unless it is a fiduciary or custodial account, a Tenancy By the Entireties Account With Right of Survivorship if the only individuals named are married to each other. Opened anywhere other than Pennsylvania, the same account is a Joint Account With Right of Survivorship.
- WEST VIRGINIA NOTICE: BR-1009 carries a separate notice that West Virginia joint account holders must initial. It states that all the money in the joint account may be withdrawn by anyone named on it, or pledged as security for a loan or debt by anyone named on it, unless prior written notice is given to M&T not to permit it, and that despite any such notice M&T may pay the entire account balance to a creditor or other legal claimant pursuant to legal process.
- On any Joint Account With Right of Survivorship, BR-1009 states that on the death of a party the deceased party's ownership passes to the surviving party or parties, so the account does not enter probate.
- A trust can be named as a POD beneficiary; bring the trust name, date established, and EIN to the branch.
- A POD designation controls over the instructions in a will, and POD funds pass outside probate.
Sources
Data sourced from M&T Bank primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these M&T Bank instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against M&T Bank primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Customer Service
PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
Estate Administration Services / Wilmington Trust
M&T Bank Estate Services, PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
Estate Services
M&T Bank Estate Services, PO Box 1850, Buffalo, NY 14240
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