We have a customer that wants to change their checking account from a trust to their name and then have the trust as POD. Is this legal in Kansas? and for FDIC insurance the owners would not qualify for separate coverage, right?

Legal or not, if they are disolving the trust, they have to maintain records of the dissolution. No bank in any jurisdiction should allow this to be done by agreeing to change the name on the account. They need to write at check from the account to close it out and open a new personal account.

Thanks rlcarey. I found KSA 9-1215 that states that a POD must be a person.

I believe you would have to title it so that the POD beneficiary is the TRUSTEE of the trust, i.e. John Doe POD the trustee of the John Doe trust

And I would recommend that before title the account in any manner that's not known to you to be supported by state law, you check with an attorney that's familiar with the specific laws of your state. IMHO, naming the trustee of a trust is not the legal equivalent of naming an individual.

I agree that the bank attorney would be a great place to start. That's not to say that bank to bank, attorneys may interpret differently. Kansas also allows charities as beneficiaries, which are clearly not a "person", so it's not as cut and dry as saying a beneficiary must be a person. I was only speaking from previous experience with that same question, and here is the guidance I was going off.

What KSA 9-1215 states is that "As used in this section, "person" means any individual, individual or corporate fiduciary or nonprofit religious or charitable organization as defined by K.S.A. 79-4701, and amendments thereto."

My response was based on current KBA position, which is

"Because of the limitations on beneficiaries, a trust cannot be named as beneficiary of a POD account. The trustee, however, is an individual fiduciary, and can be named as beneficiary. Banks should simply identify the trustee as follows: "Trustee for the John Doe Family Trust" (do not need actual name, can just say "trustee"). As a practical matter, the trust will get the funds upon the owner's death, but the bank must jump through this technical documentation hoop."

Not naming a specific trustee allows for contingent trustees without the requirement to update POD contracts and account documentation

If you still need guidance, the KBA account documentation book (which was the source for this info) or the KBA itself are both great tools (along with your attorney).