Also known as: P.O.D. account · POD account · POD accounts · payable on death account · payable on death accounts · POD · payable-on-death
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A contractual designation of a beneficiary in an account payable on request to one or more parties during their lifetimes and on the death of the last surviving party to one or more beneficiaries. The designation is established by the terms of the account itself. A beneficiary acquires no interest in the sums on deposit until the death of the last surviving party.
Phuong Pham opened a checking account at Pacific Bank and completed the form designating Portia Price as the payable-on-death beneficiary. After Phuong died, the bank paid the remaining balance directly to Portia without requiring probate administration. Portia received the funds because the account terms created a valid POD designation under the governing statute.
Perry Pratt survived his wife Penelope Price and asserted an elective share against her estate. Penelope had maintained a certificate of deposit and an annuity with POD designations naming her daughters. The probate court included those POD assets when calculating the elective share amount payable to Perry.
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Yes. The beneficiary receives the sums on deposit directly from the financial institution upon the death of the last surviving party, bypassing probate administration of the account.
Supporting sources
No. Under the Uniform Probate Code a POD designation on an account cannot be altered by will. Any attempt to revoke or modify the designation through a will is ineffective.
Divorce revokes the POD designation in favor of a former spouse unless the divorce decree or a separate contract expressly preserves the designation. The funds then pass as part of the decedent's estate.
No. A beneficiary named on a POD account acquires no interest in the sums on deposit until the death of the last surviving party.
Supporting sources