Estate planning options at Premier Members CU

The ownership and survivorship features of the membership savings account apply to all other accounts under the same account number, except retirement accounts. Different features require a separate account number.¹

Retirement accounts (IRAs) carry their own beneficiary designations. POD designations in the credit union's records do not apply to them.¹

When more than one POD payee is named, each payee receives an equal share: the account balance is divided by the number of payees designated.¹

If a POD payee dies before the owner, the remaining payees share the funds equally.¹

If all POD payees die before the owner, the funds go to the owner's estate.¹

The designations that govern are the ones on a service form or in the credit union's records.¹

Telling a person or organization that they are a POD payee is the owner's responsibility, not the credit union's.¹

A grantor or trustee of the trust must be an existing Meritrust member.²

The name that appears first on the form or in the credit union's records generally must match the SSN or EIN certified for the trust. On request, the full name of the trust can be written on the form or in the records.¹

Under Member Service Agreement Provision 4.h., a sole trustee has the rights of an owner. On a multiple-trustee account any trustee acting alone may take actions and conduct transactions for all trustees, with no duty on the credit union to notify the others.¹

The credit union may require all trustees to agree to adding or removing a trustee.¹

A successor trustee "may take actions and conduct transactions upon delivering proof satisfactory to us of her or his succession and authority to act as the current trustee of the trust." Until that proof is delivered and verified, a successor trustee has no rights to the account or its funds.¹

The credit union may keep a copy of the trust documentation for initial due diligence and then rely on the Member Service Agreement.¹

The credit union states it is not assisting with or advising about the trust.¹

The credit union may require proof of authority before accepting a check payable to the trust.¹

Everyone associated with the trust (grantors, trustees, successor trustees and beneficiaries) agrees to indemnify the credit union for actions or transactions on the trust accounts.¹

The Consumer Fee Schedule waives the $3.00 Standard Checking monthly fee for a member 65 or older who is a trustee on a revocable or irrevocable trust account.³