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.

Up to two 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 federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) separately from any of your other individual accounts. All of the funds an owner has in Totten Trust Accounts are added together for insurance purposes. Each owner of a Totten Trust account may be entitled to insurance coverage up to $250,000 for each beneficiary designated in Totten Trust Accounts they own.