How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Travis CU
Trust paperwork is taken in branch
The goal with your Travis CU accounts is to make sure every account has a transfer mechanism in place—either a POD beneficiary designation or trust ownership. Because Travis 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.
With 16 product types, Travis CU offers a range of transfer options. Some accounts support Payable on Death (POD) designations, others can be retitled into a trust, and some require probate if no beneficiary is designated. The sections below break down each step.
What Travis CU says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Travis CU's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Payable-on-death account
Travis Credit Union does not call its accounts payable on death (POD) accounts, but naming a beneficiary on an account makes it a POD account and the same rules apply.1
When all owners have died and the proper documents, such as death certificates, are provided, funds are paid directly to the named beneficiaries, bypassing probate.1
- IRA
When an IRA owner dies, the designated beneficiaries receive the IRA balance.2
What a designation takes to be effective
- All accounts
The Membership Agreement and Disclosure requires any change in account authorization, ownership or access to be in writing.3
What Travis CU's agreement says about beneficiaries1
- Joint accounts
The Membership Agreement classifies every joint account as joint tenancy with right of survivorship: if a joint owner dies, the other account holders automatically own the funds, and the balance is not subject to a will or probate.3
Which accounts a trust can hold1
- Fiduciary account
Travis Credit Union opens trust accounts as fiduciary accounts, which are deposit accounts.4
What Travis CU says about trust accounts2
Not in Travis CU's published guidance3
- An online way to name a beneficiary
- What the owner provides to name a beneficiary
- A written procedure for naming a beneficiary
Sources
Data sourced from Travis CU primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Travis CU instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Travis CU primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
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