Disappointment
I love my online savings account at FNBOdirect. Love it, love it. They have one of the highest interest rates right now, and the set up process was very easy. But…
I recently realized that they don’t offer POD (payable on death) accounts, beneficiaries, or trust accounts. This is a really bad thing for me, since I would like the money in that account to go to my minor son if I should die. Since he is a minor, if I leave it to him via a will it will require the involvement of the courts. I want it to be handled through my living trust, not the courts. Without the ability to specify a beneficiary, that won’t happen.
So I’ve begun the hunt through my other online accounts to see if any of them offer that ability. So far it looks as though ING does not offer those types of accounts either. HSBC does allow beneficiaries, but I’m not yet sure if they will allow me to name a trust as a beneficiary. They should, but who knows. It won’t matter as much after a few years, but for now it feels like my choices may be to accept abysmal interest rates from a brick-and-mortar bank, or to accept the risk of my money not going where I’d like if I should die. It’s frustrating and disappointing, but I thought I’d put my experience out there in case anyone else is in a similar circumstance.
