How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Navigant CU
Covers 12 deposit, and 3 retirement accounts — beneficiaries must be updated in-branch
Contact Center
Phone(401) 233-4700
Fax(401) 233-4715
Mailing Address
Navigant Credit Union, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
Telephone Banking
WebsiteLearn more→
NCU Investment Solutions (wealth management subsidiary)
Phone(401) 233-4337
Mailing Address
NCU Investment Solutions, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
WebsiteLearn more→
Contact Center (deceased member accounts)
Phone(401) 233-4700
Fax(401) 233-4715
Mailing Address
Navigant Credit Union, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Preparing your Navigant CU accounts for estate transfer involves two key steps: designating beneficiaries on each account and, where appropriate, retitling accounts into a trust. Because Navigant CU is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership bypass probate entirely.
Navigant CU has 15 product types, and the estate transfer rules differ across them. Some support Payable on Death (POD) designations, some can be retitled into a trust, and others will require probate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
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1
Visit any of Navigant's 25 Rhode Island branch locations. Contact Center hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM; Wednesday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM; Friday 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM; Saturday 8:30 AM - 12:00 PM.
2
Bring:
- Government-issued photo ID
- The full legal name and residential address of every beneficiary you want to name
3
Ask for a Payable on Death designation or a Totten Trust account. Navigant grants Totten Trust accounts at its sole discretion and may ask for additional documentation in a form satisfactory to it.
4
All account owners must sign. If you are naming several beneficiaries, ask how Navigant will pay them — its agreement lets it either split the funds in equal shares or issue a single check payable to all living beneficiaries and hand it to any one of them.
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- Navigant offers both Payable on Death (POD) accounts and Totten Trust accounts on deposit accounts; a Totten Trust requires no formal trust document but is granted at Navigant's sole discretion and only "in limited circumstances"
- Beneficiaries must be identified by name and RESIDENTIAL address
- Beneficiaries have no interest in, and no access to, the account until the death of the owner (or, on a joint account, the last surviving owner)
- On death, funds pass to the THEN-LIVING beneficiaries in equal shares; a beneficiary who predeceases the owner simply drops out
- POD and Totten Trust funds are not governed by your will and are not inherited by your heirs
- Where there is more than one living beneficiary, Navigant may at its option pay equal shares OR issue one check in the name of all the beneficiaries and give it to any one of them
- Payment of POD and Totten Trust funds is subject to Navigant's right of set off and any applicable security interest — an unpaid Navigant loan can reduce what the beneficiaries receive
- Navigant has no obligation to notify any beneficiary that the account exists or that their interest has vested
- If more than one trustee is named on a Totten Trust account, Navigant treats the account as a joint account
- Navigant states it makes no representation that designating an account POD is advisable, and directs members to consult an attorney or estate planning professional first
- IRA beneficiary designations are made separately under the IRA agreement and are NOT covered by a deposit-account POD designation
Sources
Data sourced from Navigant CU primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Navigant CU instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Navigant CU primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Contact Center
Phone(401) 233-4700
Fax(401) 233-4715
Mailing Address
Navigant Credit Union, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
Telephone Banking
WebsiteLearn more→
NCU Investment Solutions (wealth management subsidiary)
Phone(401) 233-4337
Mailing Address
NCU Investment Solutions, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
WebsiteLearn more→
Contact Center (deceased member accounts)
Phone(401) 233-4700
Fax(401) 233-4715
Mailing Address
Navigant Credit Union, 1005 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Navigant CU accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
