Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

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tibbitts
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Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

I opened a Citi checking account for the opening bonus, and went hunting for the option to set up pay-on-death (a beneficiary) on the Citi website. When I couldn't find it I tried chat, which referred me to the call center, and then was told there was no such option for a checking account. I found a form on a third-party website that appears to designate a beneficiary for a Citi account, but also appears to have to be filled out in-branch, and seems intended for ex-U.S. use. There are no branches anywhere near me. I know that numerous Bogleheads have set up Citi accounts (checking and/or savings) for the opening bonuses, so has anyone found out how to set up a beneficiary? I've been able to designate a beneficiary for checking at other banks, although I don't remember trying to do so online.
sport
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by sport »

If all else fails, it seems you could make it a joint account with your intended beneficiary. Then, they would automatically get the account in the event of your passing.
Topic Author
tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

sport wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:42 am If all else fails, it seems you could make it a joint account with your intended beneficiary. Then, they would automatically get the account in the event of your passing.
That was a choice when I set the account up, although having another owner would probably open up some liability concerns(?) I didn't notice an online option to add an owner but wasn't looking for that either. I was really expecting an "account options" menu where those kinds of choices would be but haven't found it.
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tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

After doing some more searching it seems that Citi simply doesn't have any beneficiary or pay-on-death capability for ordinary taxable accounts. I'm surprised/disappointed. I was going to keep the account open with a tiny balance (since there's no minimum balance requirement) after the bonus period, just to have another checking account, but now probably wont'.
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anon_investor
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by anon_investor »

tibbitts wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:27 pm After doing some more searching it seems that Citi simply doesn't have any beneficiary or pay-on-death capability for ordinary taxable accounts. I'm surprised/disappointed. I was going to keep the account open with a tiny balance (since there's no minimum balance requirement) after the bonus period, just to have another checking account, but now probably wont'.
That is actually not surprising. For many of the checking accounts at brick and mortar banks I have had over the years, there has never been the ability to add beneficiaries. One notable exception is my current Bank of America checking, which has the option to add beneficiaires and do so online. My Ally checking (online only) also has the ability to add beneficiaries online.
bsteiner
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by bsteiner »

Long before TOD was available for other assets, it was available for bank accounts. However, in the case of a bank account, it's called "in trust for." I don't know where the term came from. It has nothing to do with a trust. It's also sometimes called a Totten Trust after the case by that name many years ago that upheld its use.

Perhaps if you tell the bank person that you want the account to be "in trust for" your beneficiary, they'll be able to do it.

Of course, it's often not a good idea to have beneficiaries other than on life insurance and retirement benefits.
Da5id
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by Da5id »

sport wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:42 am If all else fails, it seems you could make it a joint account with your intended beneficiary. Then, they would automatically get the account in the event of your passing.
Depending on the amount, if adding non-spouse as joint holder can't that trigger a gift tax filing? May not be an issue, but worth considering at least.
Last edited by Da5id on Mon Sep 27, 2021 3:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Topic Author
tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

anon_investor wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:54 pm
tibbitts wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:27 pm After doing some more searching it seems that Citi simply doesn't have any beneficiary or pay-on-death capability for ordinary taxable accounts. I'm surprised/disappointed. I was going to keep the account open with a tiny balance (since there's no minimum balance requirement) after the bonus period, just to have another checking account, but now probably wont'.
That is actually not surprising. For many of the checking accounts at brick and mortar banks I have had over the years, there has never been the ability to add beneficiaries. One notable exception is my current Bank of America checking, which has the option to add beneficiaires and do so online. My Ally checking (online only) also has the ability to add beneficiaries online.
My Chase checking also has that feature, but what I'm seeing when I search is that it might be something like a 50% chance of a given bank having that capability. I had just assumed it would be there.

It sounds like BoA might be a good checking account to have eventually, but I'd have to look into the minimum balance requirements etc. since I wouldn't qualify for Preferred Rewards. My only BoA credit card expired from non-use a year or two ago so I don't have any BoA accounts now.
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tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

Da5id wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 3:25 pm
sport wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:42 am If all else fails, it seems you could make it a joint account with your intended beneficiary. Then, they would automatically get the account in the event of your passing.
Depending on the amount, if adding spouse as joint holder can't that trigger a gift tax filing? May not be an issue, but worth considering at least.
I would have guessed that adding a spouse wouldn't have any tax implications, although this wouldn't be a spouse and that's partly why it seemed complicated in terms of liability implications for example.
Da5id
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by Da5id »

tibbitts wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 3:28 pm
Da5id wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 3:25 pm
sport wrote: Mon Sep 27, 2021 11:42 am If all else fails, it seems you could make it a joint account with your intended beneficiary. Then, they would automatically get the account in the event of your passing.
Depending on the amount, if adding spouse as joint holder can't that trigger a gift tax filing? May not be an issue, but worth considering at least.
I would have guessed that adding a spouse wouldn't have any tax implications, although this wouldn't be a spouse and that's partly why it seemed complicated in terms of liability implications for example.
Gah, fixed, I meant "non-spouse".
HereToLearn
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by HereToLearn »

Resurrecting a very old thread to ask what happens to the money in a Citi checking account upon death of the account holder, since it appears that Citi does not allow one to name a beneficiary on a checking account?
Topic Author
tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

HereToLearn wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 12:34 pm Resurrecting a very old thread to ask what happens to the money in a Citi checking account upon death of the account holder, since it appears that Citi does not allow one to name a beneficiary on a checking account?
I would imagine it becomes part of the estate, but I closed my Citi checking account, given what appeared to be new fees that would have applied.
HereToLearn
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by HereToLearn »

tibbitts wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 12:55 pm
HereToLearn wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 12:34 pm Resurrecting a very old thread to ask what happens to the money in a Citi checking account upon death of the account holder, since it appears that Citi does not allow one to name a beneficiary on a checking account?
I would imagine it becomes part of the estate, but I closed my Citi checking account, given what appeared to be new fees that would have applied.
Thanks! Am trying to ensure I avoid probate, if possible.
Topic Author
tibbitts
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Re: Citibank Checking Beneficiary or Pay or Transfer on Death?

Post by tibbitts »

HereToLearn wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 1:03 pm
tibbitts wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 12:55 pm
HereToLearn wrote: Sat Jan 20, 2024 12:34 pm Resurrecting a very old thread to ask what happens to the money in a Citi checking account upon death of the account holder, since it appears that Citi does not allow one to name a beneficiary on a checking account?
I would imagine it becomes part of the estate, but I closed my Citi checking account, given what appeared to be new fees that would have applied.
Thanks! Am trying to ensure I avoid probate, if possible.
I'm not an expert but some states have some variation on a small-estate probate that's fairly trivial. I'm not sure that it would be practical to avoid any kind of probate at all if that's not the case, since something is likely to fall through a trust-ownership crack, if that's what you're thinking.
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