It's often the case that checks issued as dividends or other payments from brokerage accounts (as well as those issued by banks for interest payments from deposit accounts) are printed with payee and address information that exactly duplicates the account registration information on the issuer's system. So, if Ken has hit on the actual abbreviation involved, the account from which this check was issued was probably a securities account designated for transfer on death to a designated individual or individuals.
It's my understanding that things like "STA TOD" or "POD [name]" are extraneous and don't affect ownership or negotiation of the check.
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John S. Burnett
BankersOnline.com
Fighting for Compliance since 1976
Bankers' Threads User #8