Totten Trust Accounts
A Totten Trust is a form of account ownership that allows the account balance to
pass automatically to a designated beneficiary immediately upon the owner's
death. This type of account is often called an In-Trust-For or
Payable-Upon-Death account (POD).
The account can be held individually or jointly with one or more other
owners/trustees, such as a spouse. Account owners retain full ownership and use
of the account during their lifetime.
One or more beneficiaries can be designated. Beneficiary
designation can be changed at any time. Beneficiaries do not need to know the
account exists. Upon death of the account owner (or that of the last joint
owner, if any) the remaining account balance will automatically pass to the
designated beneficiaries.
Totten Trusts are considered testamentary accounts and are
federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as a form
of individual account for the first named owner/trustee. The funds in the
account are insured up to a total of $250,000 for each beneficiary, separate
from any of your other individual accounts.
