How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Northwest
Trust paperwork is taken in branch
Preparing your Northwest 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.
Northwest has 16 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 pass through the estate if nothing is set up. Each is covered below.
No beneficiary form at Northwest
Required Documents
- Copy of the trust agreement (on Northwest's request). The trust agreement is the only trust document the Deposit Account Agreement names
- Other documents and authorizations Northwest deems necessary (for a fiduciary account)
- Identifying information for each person opening the account. Name, address, date of birth and other identifying information. Northwest may ask to see a driver's license or other identifying documents
Beneficiary designation is not available for investment accounts at Northwest.
Beneficiary designation is not available for retirement accounts at Northwest.
What Northwest says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Northwest's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary1
- Payable-on-death account
A Totten trust ("in trust for") account, defined in Section 21 of the Deposit Account Agreement, is an informal trust account reflected on the bank's records, without a written trust agreement, owned by the depositor as trustee.1
A payable-on-death (P.O.D.) account, defined in Section 22 under the heading "(WHERE OFFERED)", is payable to the account holder during his or her lifetime and is owned by the P.O.D. payees when the account holder dies.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
When the trustee dies, a Totten trust account is owned by the named beneficiaries in equal shares. A P.O.D. account goes to the surviving P.O.D. payees in equal shares unless the deposit account records state otherwise.1
What Northwest's agreement says about beneficiaries3
- Changing or revoking a designation
The owner may change the Totten trust beneficiary or P.O.D. payee "by written direction to us" (the bank).1
- What the owner keeps while living
A Totten trust beneficiary has no right to the funds during the trustee's lifetime.1
- No beneficiary survives
If no beneficiary or P.O.D. payee survives the last owner or trustee, state law determines ownership of the funds.1
State requirements Northwest statesNew York
- New York
In New York, a Convenience Account gives the convenience signer no right of survivorship; all funds belong to the account holder individually.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Trust account
Section 24 of the Deposit Account Agreement defines a Formal Trust Account as an account held by one or more trustees for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries according to a written trust agreement.1
The agreement distinguishes this from an informal Totten trust account, which is reflected on the bank's records without a written trust agreement.1
What Northwest says about trust accounts4
- Review of the trust document
Northwest acts only as custodian of the trust funds and is under no obligation to act as a trustee or to inquire into the powers or duties of the trustee.1
- Who signs for the trust
For every fiduciary account, including a formal trust account, Northwest may require the documents and authorizations it deems necessary to satisfy itself of the authority of the person directing withdrawals, at opening and at all times after.1
- Whether a new account is opened
Northwest reserves the right to decline a fiduciary account.1
- Indemnity the owner or a trustee gives
On a formal trust account, the trustees and anyone opening the account agree to indemnify Northwest against claims by any beneficiary or other trustee arising from the trustee's handling of the account.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Northwest Bank Trust Department
Trust, fiduciary, employee benefit plan and retirement services, including administering and investing trust assets2
Phone: 1-814-452-1000
Not in Northwest's published guidance3
- A beneficiary designation form
- What the owner provides to name a beneficiary
- A certification of trust
Sources2
- 1.Deposit Account Agreement & Disclosure, revised 08/12/2024
- 2.Trust & Estate Planning
Sources
Data sourced from Northwest primary sources (21 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Northwest instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Northwest primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Northwest estate support
Northwest Bank Trust Department
Phone
Website
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