The stories are many of wills that indicate that "account X at bank A is for granddaughter Mary; account Y in bank B is for grandson Steven," etc. That is old-style process, and it slows things up through probate, and may even mean that Mary and Steven never get their money (if the estate has creditors, etc.) Cap that off with the fact that it doesn't take advantage of the special POD insurance rules.
Depositors don't have to designate the beneficiary's name in the account title (the info does have to be in account records unless a true trust is involved), but they do have to include, in the title, the "flag" for the FDIC that says there is a special situation here. "POD," "ITF," "Trustee for" or other wording to indicate that the rules of 330.10 have to be applied.
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John S. Burnett
BankersOnline.com
Fighting for Compliance since 1976
Bankers' Threads User #8