To add a beneficiary to your bank account, fill out your bank’s Payable on Death (POD) or In Trust For (ITF) designation form, submit it in person at a branch, through online banking, or by certified mail, and verify the designation appears on your next statement. The form is usually free, takes a few minutes, and lets the named person inherit the balance directly without probate when you die.
What to Gather Before You Fill Out the Form
Banks ask for specific identifying information for every person you name. You will need each beneficiary’s full legal name as it appears on government-issued ID, date of birth, current mailing address, and Social Security number. The SSN requirement exists for identity verification and tax reporting, so the bank can confirm the right person claims the funds later.1HelpWithMyBank.gov. Can a Bank Require a Beneficiary to Provide a Social Security Number Most banks also want you to state your relationship to the beneficiary (spouse, child, sibling) to document intent.
If your beneficiary is not a U.S. citizen and has no Social Security number, they will typically need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead. The IRS issues ITINs to foreign persons who need a taxpayer identification number but are not eligible for an SSN.2Internal Revenue Service. Topic No 857, Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) Policies vary by bank, so call ahead and ask what identification they accept for non-citizen beneficiaries before you visit a branch.
The document itself is usually labeled a Beneficiary Designation Form, though some banks call it an Account Ownership Change Form. You can pick one up at a branch or find it inside your online banking portal, often filed under account services or security settings. These designations work for checking accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.
POD or ITF: Does the Label Matter?
Both labels accomplish the same thing. The account stays in your name while you are alive, and the balance transfers to your beneficiary at your death without passing through probate. POD is a direct contractual instruction to the bank. ITF creates what is sometimes called a Totten trust, a tentative trust that becomes effective at death. Your bank will use whichever label fits its internal structure. The practical outcome is identical, and in either case the designation overrides any conflicting instruction in your will. If your will leaves the account to your brother but your POD names your daughter, your daughter receives the money.
How to Submit the Form
You have three ways to get the completed form to the bank.
The simplest is visiting a branch. A bank officer verifies your ID, witnesses your signature, and scans the documents into the system during the appointment. Adding a POD beneficiary generally costs nothing.3Bank of America. Account Ownership Changes
Most banks also let you add beneficiaries through online banking. Navigate to the beneficiary management screen, enter the information you gathered, and confirm. The update usually posts immediately.
If you cannot visit a branch or complete the change online, mail the signed form by certified mail with return receipt requested. That creates a verifiable paper trail showing when the bank received it.
After the bank processes the request, you should receive confirmation by letter or secure message. Check your next monthly statement for a “Beneficiary” or “POD” notation next to the account. That notation is your proof the designation is active.
Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries
The form has lines for both primary and contingent beneficiaries. The primary beneficiary receives the balance first. The contingent beneficiary is the backup, inheriting only if the primary has already died, cannot be located, or refuses the inheritance.
Leaving the contingent line blank is one of the most common mistakes. If your primary beneficiary dies before you and no contingent is named, the account typically reverts to your estate and goes through probate, which is exactly what the designation was supposed to prevent. Naming at least one contingent takes a few seconds.
Splitting the Balance Among Multiple People
You can name more than one beneficiary on a single account. Some banks, including Bank of America, impose no limit on the number of POD beneficiaries you can add.4Bank of America. Beneficiaries FAQs: Payable on Death (POD) Beneficiary When you name several, you assign each one a percentage, and the percentages must add up to 100%.
Some forms also ask you to pick a distribution method. Per capita divides the money equally among surviving beneficiaries only. If you name three children and one dies before you, the surviving two each receive half. Per stirpes means “by branch.” If one of your three children dies before you, that child’s share passes down to their own children instead of being redistributed among your other children. Think through which outcome you want before you check a box.
Specific Situations
Joint Accounts
If you hold a joint account with a spouse or partner, the POD beneficiary receives nothing when the first owner dies. Joint ownership takes priority, and the surviving account holder inherits full ownership automatically. The POD designation only activates after the last surviving owner passes away. That is how most couples want it to work, but understand clearly that your named beneficiary is waiting behind any surviving co-owner.
Naming a Minor
You can name a child or grandchild under 18 as a POD beneficiary, but the bank will not hand money directly to a minor. When a minor inherits, the funds typically must be managed by a court-appointed guardian or by a custodian under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) until the child reaches the age of majority in their state, usually 18 or 21.
If you want control over when and how a young beneficiary receives the money, a formal trust may suit you better than a POD designation. A trust lets you set conditions, like releasing funds at age 25 or tying distributions to education, that a POD cannot accommodate.
Changing or Removing a Beneficiary Later
You can change, add, or remove beneficiaries at any time while you are alive.3Bank of America. Account Ownership Changes The process mirrors the original setup. You submit a new designation form, and the bank treats it as a complete replacement of whatever was on file. If you want to swap one person for another, the new form must list every beneficiary you want going forward, not just the changes. Each submission is timestamped, and the most recent version controls.
To revoke all beneficiaries without naming replacements, submit a revocation form that returns the account to standard individual or joint ownership. After that, the balance will follow your will or your state’s intestacy laws when you die, meaning it goes through probate.
Verbal instructions and handwritten notes do not count. Neither does updating your will. The only thing the bank follows is the most recent beneficiary designation in its own records.
Divorce
More than 40 states have some form of “revocation upon divorce” statute affecting beneficiary designations on bank accounts, insurance policies, and retirement plans. In roughly 26 of those states, divorce automatically removes your ex-spouse as a beneficiary. The remaining states do not, meaning your ex-spouse could inherit your account if you forget to update it. Regardless of where you live, treat a divorce as an immediate trigger to review every beneficiary designation you have.
Power of Attorney
An agent acting under a power of attorney generally cannot add or remove beneficiaries on your accounts. Some POA documents grant this authority explicitly, but most do not, and banks are cautious about accepting beneficiary changes from anyone other than the account holder. If you expect to need someone else to manage this, ask an attorney whether your POA includes that specific power before assuming your agent can handle it.
A Side Benefit: Expanded Deposit Insurance
Adding beneficiaries is not just an estate planning move. It also increases your federal deposit insurance. A standard individual bank account is insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000. With POD beneficiaries, the FDIC insures the account for $250,000 per beneficiary, up to a $1,250,000 ceiling at five or more beneficiaries.5FDIC. Trust Accounts The coverage applies per bank, so accounts at separate FDIC-insured institutions each get their own ceiling. Beneficiaries must be specifically named in the bank’s records; vague references like “my children” do not qualify. Credit unions follow a nearly identical structure through the NCUA.6NCUA. Trust Rule Fact Sheet: Changes in NCUA Share Insurance Coverage
What a POD Does Not Shield You From
A POD designation bypasses probate, but it does not automatically shield the money from the deceased owner’s debts. Many states follow a version of the Uniform Probate Code that lets a personal representative reach nonprobate assets, including POD accounts, when the probate estate lacks funds to cover obligations. The beneficiary’s liability in those states is generally capped at the amount received. For typical balances this rarely comes up, but it is worth knowing if the account holder has significant debts.
On taxes, an inheritance itself is generally not subject to federal income tax, though any interest the account earns after the original owner’s death is taxable income to the new owner. A handful of states impose their own inheritance or estate taxes, so check your state’s rules.
Tell your beneficiaries the account exists and which bank holds it. A POD designation is useless if no one knows to ask for it.