How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at UNIFY
Covers 11 deposit, 3 retirement, 5 lending, and 1 investment accounts — beneficiaries can be managed online
Brand change
UNIFY Financial Credit Union merged into CommunityAmerica Credit Union effective November 1, 2025, with CommunityAmerica the surviving entity. The systems conversion is now dated: UNIFY publishes a Conversion Weekend of July 31 through August 3, 2026, and states that "your new CommunityAmerica banking experience begins Monday, August 3." Estate impact: an executor settling a UNIFY account on or after August 3, 2026 should expect to work with CommunityAmerica, under CommunityAmerica account numbers, cards, and digital banking. UNIFY branches and ATMs began carrying the CommunityAmerica logo ahead of that date. Merger updates are published at https://www.unifyfcu.com/forward. Bring the certified death certificate and Letters to whichever brand is answering; the account history carries over. Effective November 2025.
UNIFY is now part of CommunityAmerica. The procedures below reflect UNIFY's accounts during the transition. View the CommunityAmerica estate planning page.
Contact Center
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518
Contact Center
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518
Member Services (Contact Center)
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518 (overnight and courier: UNIFY Financial Credit Union, Attn: Operations Services, 2305B West 190th Street, Torrance, CA 90504)
There are two ways to keep your UNIFY accounts out of probate: adding Payable on Death designations and retitling accounts into a trust. Because UNIFY is a membership-based institution, trust retitling must maintain the membership eligibility requirement. Both methods ensure your accounts transfer directly to the people you choose, without court involvement.
Across 20 product types, UNIFY accounts vary in how they transfer at death. The sections below walk through Payable on Death (POD) designations, trust funding options, and which products support each method.
- Sign in at https://www.unifyfcu.com/ via the eBanking login
- Navigate to account settings to add or update beneficiaries
- Beneficiary requests are typically processed within one business day
- Provide each beneficiary's full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and relationship
- Designate primary and contingent beneficiaries with percentage allocations
- For trusts as beneficiary: provide trust name, date established, trustee, and contact information
- Submit changes electronically
Required Documents
- Trust name, date established, and tax ID (EIN or SSN)
Special Requirements
- POD designations available for deposit accounts (checking, savings, certificates, money market)
- POD accounts pass directly to designated beneficiaries outside of probate
- Beneficiary designations override instructions in a will or trust
- Investment account beneficiaries managed separately through UNIFY Investment Solutions
- Review recommended annually or after marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or death of a beneficiary
Sources
Data sourced from UNIFY primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these UNIFY instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against UNIFY primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Contact Center
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518
Contact Center
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518
Member Services (Contact Center)
UNIFY Financial Credit Union, PO Box 10018, Manhattan Beach, CA 90267-7518 (overnight and courier: UNIFY Financial Credit Union, Attn: Operations Services, 2305B West 190th Street, Torrance, CA 90504)
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