Estate planning options at Sikorsky CU
The goal with your Sikorsky CU accounts is to make sure every account has a transfer mechanism in place—either a POD beneficiary designation or trust ownership. Because Sikorsky CU is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Accounts without either one pass through the estate, by probate or the state's small-estate procedure.
Sikorsky CU has 22 accounts with different estate transfer rules. Here is how beneficiary designations, trust ownership, and probate apply to each one.
No beneficiary form at Sikorsky CU
Required Documents
- Owner's Social Security number, on the signature card (for a POD account)
Required Documents
- Owner's Social Security number, on the signature card (for a POD account)
Required Documents
- Owner's Social Security number, on the signature card (for a POD account)
What Sikorsky CU says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Sikorsky CU's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
Who can be named1
- A person
A POD account is held in trust for one or more individuals.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Payable-on-death account
At the owner's death the account belongs to the named beneficiary if alive, or equally to the named beneficiaries who are alive.1
What Sikorsky CU's agreement says about beneficiaries2
What Sikorsky CU says about trust accounts4
- Who signs for the trust
On an account opened by a fiduciary such as a trustee, the funds belong to the trust estate, and only the trustees may withdraw funds or otherwise transact business on the account.1
- Review of the trust document
The credit union may require a certified copy of the trust instrument, court order or decree appointing the fiduciary.1
The law and the trust document or court order define the fiduciary's rights and duties. The credit union is not responsible for the document's contents or the trustee's duties to beneficiaries.1
- The trust's tax identification number
A taxpayer identification number is required for any account opened on behalf of a trust or other separately taxable entity.1
- Membership
Every account holder must be a member. The contract requires ownership of one share in a Member Savings Account as a condition of membership.1
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- LPL Financial
Investment accounts offered through the credit union, governed by LPL Financial account terms2
Not in Sikorsky CU's published guidance7
- A beneficiary designation form
- A beneficiary-change procedure
- A provision naming a trust as POD beneficiary
- A provision naming another entity as POD beneficiary
- The separate IRA contracts, for retirement accounts
- A procedure for retitling an existing account to a trust
- LPL Financial account terms, for investment accounts
Sources2
Sources
Data sourced from Sikorsky CU primary sources (29 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Sikorsky CU instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Sikorsky CU primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Sikorsky CU estate support
Member Solutions Department
Phone
Toll-free
Automated Phone Banking
Automated Phone Banking (toll-free)
Lost or stolen ATM/debit card
Lost or stolen Visa credit card
Lost or stolen Visa credit card, outside the U.S.
Credit card payments (Card Services)
Fax for electronic fund transfer error notices
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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