Regulations last checked for updates: Nov 22, 2024

Title 12 - Banks and Banking last revised: Nov 20, 2024
§ 330.10 - Trust accounts.

(a) Scope and definitions. This section governs coverage for deposits held in connection with informal revocable trusts, formal revocable trusts, and irrevocable trusts not covered by § 330.12 (“trust accounts”). For purposes of this section:

(1) Informal revocable trust means a trust under which a deposit passes directly to one or more beneficiaries upon the depositor's death without a written trust agreement, commonly referred to as a payable-on-death account, in-trust-for account, or Totten trust account.

(2) Formal revocable trust means a revocable trust established by a written trust agreement under which a deposit passes to one or more beneficiaries upon the grantor's death.

(3) Irrevocable trust means an irrevocable trust established by statute or a written trust agreement, except as described in paragraph (f) of this section.

(b) Calculation of coverage—(1) General calculation. Trust deposits are insured in an amount up to the SMDIA multiplied by the total number of beneficiaries identified by each grantor, up to a maximum of 5 beneficiaries.

(2) Aggregation for purposes of insurance limit. Trust deposits that pass from the same grantor to beneficiaries are aggregated for purposes of determining coverage under this section, regardless of whether those deposits are held in connection with an informal revocable trust, formal revocable trust, or irrevocable trust.

(3) Separate insurance coverage. The deposit insurance coverage provided under this section is separate from coverage provided for other deposits at the same insured depository institution.

(4) Equal allocation presumed. Unless otherwise specified in the deposit account records of the insured depository institution, a deposit held in connection with a trust established by multiple grantors is presumed to have been owned or funded by the grantors in equal shares.

(c) Number of beneficiaries. The total number of beneficiaries for a trust deposit under paragraph (b) of this section will be determined as follows:

(1) Eligible beneficiaries. Subject to paragraph (c)(2) of this section, beneficiaries include natural persons, as well as charitable organizations and other non-profit entities recognized as such under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

(2) Ineligible beneficiaries. Beneficiaries do not include:

(i) The grantor of a trust; or

(ii) A person or entity that would only obtain an interest in the deposit if one or more identified beneficiaries are deceased.

(3) Future trust(s) named as beneficiaries. If a trust agreement provides that trust funds will pass into one or more new trusts upon the death of the grantor(s) (“future trusts”), the future trust(s) are not treated as beneficiaries of the trust; rather, the future trust(s) are viewed as mechanisms for distributing trust funds, and the beneficiaries are the natural persons or organizations that shall receive the trust funds through the future trusts.

(4) Informal trust account payable to depositor's formal trust. If an informal revocable trust designates the depositor's formal trust as its beneficiary, the informal revocable trust account will be treated as if titled in the name of the formal trust.

(d) Deposit account records—(1) Informal revocable trusts. The beneficiaries of an informal revocable trust must be specifically named in the deposit account records of the insured depository institution.

(2) Formal revocable trusts. The title of a formal trust account must include terminology sufficient to identify the account as a trust account, such as “family trust” or “living trust,” or must otherwise be identified as a testamentary trust in the account records of the insured depository institution. If eligible beneficiaries of such formal revocable trust are specifically named in the deposit account records of the insured depository institution, the FDIC shall presume the continued validity of the named beneficiary's interest in the trust consistent with § 330.5(a).

(e) Commingled deposits of bankruptcy trustees. If a bankruptcy trustee appointed under title 11 of the United States Code commingles the funds of various bankruptcy estates in the same account at an insured depository institution, the funds of each title 11 bankruptcy estate will be added together and insured up to the SMDIA, separately from the funds of any other such estate.

(f) Deposits excluded from coverage under this section—(1) Revocable trust co-owners that are sole beneficiaries of a trust. If the co-owners of an informal or formal revocable trust are the trust's sole beneficiaries, deposits held in connection with the trust are treated as joint ownership deposits under § 330.9.

(2) Employee benefit plan deposits. Deposits of employee benefit plans, even if held in connection with a trust, are treated as employee benefit plan deposits under § 330.14.

(3) Investment company deposits. This section shall not apply to deposits of trust funds belonging to a trust classified as a corporation under § 330.11(a)(2).

(4) Insured depository institution as trustee of an irrevocable trust. Deposits held by an insured depository institution in its capacity as trustee of an irrevocable trust are insured as provided in § 330.12.

[87 FR 4470, Jan. 28, 2022]
authority: 12 U.S.C. 1813(
source: 63 FR 25756, May 11, 1998, unless otherwise noted.
cite as: 12 CFR 330.10