How Do I Open a Trust Account at Navy Federal?

Opening or retitling

In a branch

Not stated

Online

Not stated

By phone

Not stated

By mail

Not stated

Appointment

Not stated

Co-trustees

Not stated

Existing account

Can be retitled to the trust

What proves the trust

Not stated

Certification form

Not stated

What it costs

Opening deposit

Not stated for trust accounts

Monthly fee

Not stated for trust accounts. Of the four checking options on Form 678A, Flagship Checking carries $10.00 per month when the average daily balance is under $1,500.00; the three Free checking accounts carry no monthly service fee

Fee waived at

Not stated for trust accounts. Flagship Checking: $1,500.00 average daily balance during the statement period

Other waivers

Not stated for trust accounts

Schedule that applies

Navy Federal Schedule of Fees and Charges (NFCU 2043ep, 5-25) / the Fees and Charges page -- the member schedule

Other charges

Dormant Checking Account fee $3.00 per quarter and Inactive Member fee $3.00 per quarter, each conditioned on a member age 24 and over holding under $50.00 with no activity in 12 months and no other Navy Federal products; copy of a paid or deposited item $1.00 per copy after the first request each month. No paper-statement or early-closing fee is published.

For trust accounts

Nothing. "trust" and "fiduciary" occur 0 times in the Schedule of Fees and Charges (control "account" x11) and 0 times in the Fees and Charges page fee rows; NFCU 606's one trust sentence is share insurance ("Deposit Trust Accounts are insured separately from your other Navy Federal accounts. Each grantor is insured for up to $250,000 per beneficiary."). No fee, waiver, exclusion or dormancy rule names a trust account.

Who can open it

Existing customer

Not stated

Membership

Required

Documents to bring

• Completed Application for Deposit Trust Account (Form NFCU 678A), signed by the trustee
• Copy of the trust pages that name the trust, carry the signatures that established it, and show the trustee designations
• Grantor's Social Security number (SSN/ITIN) or the trust's Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Trustee and co-trustee identification: name, street address, date of birth, SSN, and government ID number
• The number of trust beneficiaries, including life-estate-interest beneficiaries (required for share-insurance coverage)
• For accounts being reassigned: signature of the existing owner and any joint owner

Steps at Navy Federal

1. 1
   Have the legal trust drawn up first -- "A legal trust is required prior to establishing a Deposit Trust Account"; Navy Federal does not draft trusts and refers members to Members Trust Company (888-727-9191) for an attorney referral
2. 2
   Download the Application for Deposit Trust Account (Form NFCU 678A) from the Forms and Brochures page
3. 3
   Complete Form NFCU 678A:

   • Section A: the trust's name, the grantor's SSN/ITIN or the trust's EIN, the grantor's Access Number, and the number of trust beneficiaries including life-estate-interest beneficiaries (required for share-insurance coverage)
   • Sections B and C: trustee and co-trustee identification (home street address, date of birth, SSN, driver's license or government ID number)
   • Section D Part I: the new accounts to open under the trust (Trust Savings, one checking option, MMSA, Jumbo MMSA, certificates) and/or Part II: the existing account numbers to reassign under the trust; a reassigned membership savings account is replaced by a new one under the personal Access Number
   • Section F: trustee signature (required) and co-trustee signature (if applicable) with the tax certification; Section G: signatures of the owner and any joint owner of accounts being reassigned
4. 4
   Attach a copy of the trust pages that name the trust, carry the signatures that established it, and show the trustee designations
5. 5
   The trust receives its own Access Number, separate from the trustee's personal Access Number; only the trustees designated in the trust agreement can access the accounts, and the application enrols the trustees in Navy Federal Online Banking for the trust's accounts

Once it is open

Online banking

Available

Checks

Not stated

Debit card

Not stated

After the grantor dies: the successor trustee at Navy Federal

Death certificate

Not stated

Trust's own EIN

Required after the death

The account

Continues under the successor trustee

Online banking

Available to the successor

Appointment

Not stated

1. 1
   Advise Navy Federal whether all primary beneficiaries of the trust are Navy Federal members; each must hold a membership share savings account in their own name as primary owner
2. 2
   Obtain an EIN for the trust from the IRS (online at IRS.gov or by Form SS-4) -- the trust tax ID must be an EIN because a decedent's SSN cannot be used
3. 3
   Complete an updated Application for Deposit Trust Account for Survivors (Form NFCU 678AS) with the EIN, the trustee and co-trustee details, and the trust pages naming the trust, showing the establishing signatures, and showing the trustee designations
4. 4
   Bring the documents to a Navy Federal branch, or submit them to the Deposit Trust Accounts Section by fax (703-206-3724), by eMessage through navyfederal.org, or by mail (NFCU Trust Department, PO Box 3002, Merrifield, VA 22116-9887); allow up to 10 business days for processing
5. 5
   If the beneficiaries are not eligible for membership or decline it, the Navy Federal trust account must be dissolved: submit a written closure letter (or the Deposit Trust Account Closure for Survivors form) naming the trust, confirming closure, and giving cashier's-check or wire instructions; a non-member successor trustee attaches a photo ID and the trust pages naming the trust, listing the successor trustees, and carrying the establishing signatures

Navy Federal publishes a dedicated successor packet (NFCU 678D) whose two paths are: a surviving co-grantor/co-trustee keeps the accounts on the surviving grantor's SSN, with a new NFCU 678AS only if the accounts were on the decedent's SSN or co-trustees change; a successor trustee must file an updated NFCU 678AS, supply an EIN for the trust, and confirm that all primary beneficiaries are Navy Federal members. Membership after the grantor's death runs through the BENEFICIARIES (each with a membership share savings account), not the successor trustee, who may be a non-member. If the beneficiaries will not join, the trust account must be dissolved and moved to another institution. Processing: "Please allow up to 10 business days for processing your request." No death certificate is named in the packet.

What to know at Navy Federal

Navy Federal titles deposit accounts to a legal trust through its "Deposit Trust Account", opened or reassigned on Form NFCU 678A, which gives the trust its own Access Number; savings, checking (four member checking products), MMSAs, Jumbo MMSAs and certificates qualify, IRAs do not. The account is opened under the grantor's SSN or the trust's EIN, the trust is proved by three specified excerpt pages of the instrument (no certification-of-trust form is named), and the trustee signs an affirmation of authority and a tax certification. Membership is the gate and attaches to the grantors OR all the beneficiaries (Form 678A), never to the trustee; the Estate Planning page states the rule as grantors AND beneficiaries -- both are recorded. Form 678A prints the Deposit Trust Section's mailing address (PO Box 3002, Merrifield, VA 22116-9887) and fax (703-206-3724) but no submission sentence; the branch / fax / eMessage / mail list appears on the closure form (NFCU 678C) and the survivors' guide (NFCU 678D), so the grantor-side channels stay unclear. No appointment, co-trustee-signature, check or debit-card rule is published for trust accounts; Online Banking access for the trustees is part of the application. Navy Federal publishes no trust-specific fee and its bylaws are not published online. A linked checking line of credit survives reassignment of the checking account to the trust only if the trustees sign the notarised Agreement to Obligate Trust for Checking Line of Credit (NFCU 678CLOC), and it terminates on the death of the grantor(s).