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The main problem was that I could no longer close the CDs without an early withdrawal penalty. When I visited PNC, I learned that I was already the owners of these CDs. For some reason, PNC not only converted my brother's CDs, but it also converted my CDs. My brother was also a beneficiary on some PNC CDs, and he went to a PNC branch before I did. It converted the CDs that listed me as the beneficiary without my permission. PNC also converted the CDs, but it did one surprising thing. The CD rates and maturity dates remained the same. They also allowed me to add new beneficiaries. They quickly gave me this choice at the branch, and converted the CDs with my name as the owner. The two banks that changed ownership without closing the CDs were SunTrust and PNC.
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The credit unions and the other banks required that the CDs be closed before I could take ownership of the funds. I was hoping that the banks and credit unions would allow me to take ownership of the CDs with the original rates and maturity dates. If I closed those CDs early, I would lose out on the high rates. Many of my dad's CDs were 5-year CDs that were opened a few years ago when the rates were much higher. However, there was an interesting issue with this. That was the case for all of my dad's CDs. If a beneficiary is claiming a certificate of deposit, he or she can typically close the CD without an early withdrawal penalty. This made it easier for the banks to look up the accounts in their system, but I don't think this was necessary for all cases except for that one Wells Fargo CD in which they had used the wrong beneficiary form. I also brought the copies of the account documentation with the account number and the beneficiary designation. In my experience, I just had to bring the certified copy of the death certificate and my ID. While you are alive, the beneficiaries have no access to the bank accounts. The more you give out these numbers, the more likely it could be found by hackers. I trust the credit union, but nothing is 100% secure. Also, I didn't want to provide this number. I was wanting to add my brothers as the beneficiaries, but I didn't want to carry their social security numbers. I know readers have also reported this problem at some banks. One of my credit unions refused to add a beneficiary without the beneficiary's social security number. One downside to specifying a beneficiary is that many banks and credit unions require the beneficiary's social security number.
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They typically label beneficiaries as "payable on death" (POD) or "in trust for" (ITF). Most banks allow you to add one or more beneficiaries to an account. Specifying beneficiaries on bank accounts is indeed an easy way to keep money out of probate. His main concern was to make it easy for me and my two brothers to inherit his savings without having to go through probate.
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He didn't have enough to worry about higher deposit insurance coverage. In addition to the safety and simplicity of the CDs, he also liked the ability to designate beneficiaries. He had several small CDs at a few banks and credit unions. In the last 20 years of my dad's life, almost all of his savings were in CDs. I thought it would be useful for me to review these in a blog post. However, there were a few issues that I had to consider. Except for my problems at Wells Fargo, the process of claiming the accounts was simple. He passed away in March, and this year I had my first experience of claiming accounts as a beneficiary. I was the beneficiary on several small bank accounts that my dad owned. The beneficiary can claim the account directly at the bank or credit union. This can save your heirs time and legal expenses. When the owner dies, the account doesn't have to go through the probate process. It can make it much easier on your heirs. If you don't need to worry about increasing your deposit insurance coverage, you may still want to specify beneficiaries on your accounts. I reviewed many times how this can be used to increase your deposit insurance coverage. Most banks and credit unions allow you to name payable-on-death beneficiaries on your accounts.