How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Together CU
Beneficiaries are managed in branch or by phone. Trust paperwork is taken in branch or by phone
Estate planning at Together CU means getting each account set up so it transfers automatically when you die—either through a POD beneficiary or trust ownership. Because Together CU 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.
Together CU offers 19 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.
Beneficiary form at Together CU
Member Services Request.
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's name, address and phone number
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number. Provided if possible
- Each beneficiary's percentage share (if the shares are not to be equal)
- A form of legal identification for every currently serving trustee (for example, a driver's license, passport or state-issued ID)
- An official piece of mail in your name, such as a recent utility bill, if the address on your ID is not current
- Beneficiary information: name, address, phone number, date of birth and Social Security number (if possible)
- The $5 minimum deposit
- A recent paystub, if you qualify for membership only through your employer
- The letter establishing the trust's EIN, if the trust has its own EIN
Required Documents
- Certification of Trust. Signed by all currently acting trustees. The sheet says a copy of the entire trust agreement is not accepted; the Help Center's list reads "Documentation of the Trust OR the Trust Certification."
- Legal identification for every currently serving trustee. For example, a driver's license, passport or state-issued ID
- An official piece of mail in your name, such as a recent utility bill (if the address on your ID is not current)
- Beneficiary name, address, phone number, date of birth and Social Security number. The Social Security number is provided if possible
- $5 minimum deposit
- A recent paystub (if you qualify for membership only through your employer)
- Letter establishing the trust's EIN (if the trust has its own EIN)
- An EIN for the trust (if there are no surviving grantors, when adding a trustee, promoting a successor trustee or removing a deceased trustee)
- Living Trust Account Card. Signed by all currently serving trustees
Required Documents
- Each beneficiary's name, address and phone number
- Each beneficiary's date of birth
- Each beneficiary's Social Security number. Provided if possible
- Each beneficiary's percentage share (if the shares are not to be equal)
What Together CU says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Together CU's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary4
- Payable-on-death account
The POD designation on the primary savings account applies to every savings, checking and money market account under it.1
- Certificate of deposit
POD designations for certificates of deposit "must be made separately and independently," so each certificate takes its own designation.1
- IRA
An IRA carries its own beneficiary designation; the POD designation does not apply to it.1
- Health savings account
A health savings account carries its own beneficiary designation; the POD designation does not apply to it.1
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
What a designation takes to be effective
Beneficiary forms Together CU issues1
- Member Services Request
Completed by the account owner. Provided at a branch.1
What Together CU's agreement says about beneficiaries5
- A beneficiary who dies first
A POD beneficiary who dies before the last account owner, or does not survive the last owner by 120 hours, is treated as predeceased. That share is divided among the surviving named beneficiaries.1
- No beneficiary survives
If no designated POD beneficiary survives the last owner, the funds belong to the last owner's estate.1
- Divorce
Dissolution or annulment of the owner's marriage revokes a designation in favor of the former spouse, or of a relative of the former spouse who is not also the owner's relative.1
- Whether beneficiaries are told they are named
The member, not the credit union, is responsible for telling a person or organization that they are a POD beneficiary.1
- Fees
If the credit union seeks legal or other professional advice to review documentation from a POD beneficiary's representative or a claimant, it may deduct those costs, including reasonable attorney fees, from the account.1
Which accounts a trust can hold5
- IRA
An account with an IRA cannot be changed to a trust account; the IRA is moved to a new account number.3
- Credit card
An account with a credit card cannot be changed to a trust account; the credit card is moved to a new account number.3
- Loan
Real estate loans and consumer loans, such as auto loans and the Any Reason Any Season loan, may stay once retitled in the name of the trust.3
- Certificate of deposit
Certificates of deposit may stay once retitled in the name of the trust.3
- Safe deposit box
A safe deposit box may be titled in the trust or left as it is.3
Trust account forms Together CU issues1
- Trust Account Information / Certification of Trust
Completed by all currently acting trustees. Available to download.3
What Together CU says about trust accounts3
State requirements Together CU statesCalifornia
- California
For a trust created in California, item 10 of the Certification of Trust is also required, and the Certification must be acknowledged.3
Not in Together CU's published guidance2
- An online way to name a beneficiary
- Online trust account opening
Sources3
- 1.Membership Agreement and Disclosures, Rev. 8/26
- 2.Help Center
- 3.Trust Account Information / Certification of Trust, Rev. Apr2025
Sources
Data sourced from Together CU primary sources (23 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Together CU instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Together CU primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Together CU estate support
Member Contact Center
Phone
Lynch Street branch (Main Office)
Mailing address
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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