• Home
• Services
• About Us
• FAQs
• Resources
• Contact Us

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Bank Accounts

Isn’t it easier to just name my children as the beneficiaries on my bank accounts rather than to re-title my accounts in my name as Trustee of my living trust?

Such a “payable on death” account is referred to as a “Totten Trust”. Most banks and brokerages (where it is called a “TOD” - transfer on death - account) will allow you to name direct beneficiaries for an account. While it may be easier and less expensive for you to set up, please remember the following:

• While your children can collect the account on your death, usually by presenting a certified copy of your death certificate, they will not be able to access the account for your benefit during your lifetime if you become unable to do so. If the account is in your living trust, on the other hand, the Successor Trustee can access it for your benefit if you become incapacitated.

• A Totten trust will be distributed to the named beneficiaries who are living at the time of your death. If one of the beneficiaries you name on the account does not survive you, his or her children will not receive any part of the account.

• With rare exceptions, an account which is payable on death will be paid to the named beneficiary regardless of the terms of your will or trust.

• If you decide to change beneficiaries, it is easier to modify a living trust than to go to each bank and add or remove the name of a beneficiary on the accounts.