Estate planning options at Santa Fe FCU
Estate planning at Santa Fe FCU means getting each account set up so it transfers automatically when you die—either through a POD beneficiary or trust ownership. Because Santa Fe FCU is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Without one of these in place, accounts may require probate before your family can access the funds.
Santa Fe FCU offers 7 accounts, each with its own transfer rules. The sections below cover how to set up beneficiaries, fund a trust, and which products support each approach.
No beneficiary form at Santa Fe FCU
What Santa Fe FCU says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Santa Fe FCU's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
Santa Fe FCU's Account Agreement provides for a payable on death (P.O.D.) account. On the death of the last surviving owner, the funds belong to the surviving P.O.D. beneficiaries.1
Payment may be made at the request of any named P.O.D. beneficiary then living, and that payment discharges the credit union from liability to the other P.O.D. beneficiaries.1
- IRA
A P.O.D. designation is ineffective on an Individual Retirement Account.1
What Santa Fe FCU's agreement says about beneficiaries2
- What the owner keeps while living
During the owner's lifetime the funds belong to the owner.1
- Joint accounts
If there is more than one owner, the joint-account survivorship terms apply while they are living. Joint accounts carry right of survivorship: on the death of one party, all sums in the account vest in the surviving party or parties.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Trust account
Under the Account Agreement, Santa Fe FCU may, at its option, issue shares or receive deposits in a revocable or irrevocable trust, subject to such membership requirements as it imposes.1
What Santa Fe FCU says about trust accounts2
- Who signs for the trust
When the credit union opens an account in the name of a trust, it may release funds on the signature of any trustee. A payment to any trustee or successor trustee, or at the direction of any one of them, discharges the credit union.1
- Indemnity the owner or a trustee gives
The credit union has no fiduciary responsibility for a trust account beyond the Account Agreement and serves only as a depository for the trust funds. The member and any trustee indemnify it against claims arising from the trust account.1
Not in Santa Fe FCU's published guidance6
- What the owner provides to name a beneficiary
- A beneficiary designation form
- Beneficiary change procedure
- A procedure for holding an account in a trust
- Which trust documents it accepts
- Trust certification form
Sources1
- 1.Account Agreement, Last Revised 1/01/2023
Sources
Data sourced from Santa Fe FCU primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Santa Fe FCU instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Santa Fe FCU primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Santa Fe FCU estate support
Member Services
Phone
Amarillo Main Office and Amarillo Downtown Office
Albuquerque, NM Office
Borger, TX Office
Pampa, TX Office
Lubbock, TX Office
Lost or stolen card (after hours)
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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