Payable-on-Death Deposit-Account Beneficiary Rules in Ohio

Short answer Ohio permits an adult or minor owner to make a written POD contract with a covered deposit institution, including a credit union. The owner can withdraw funds and change the beneficiary during life, but a change must follow the institution's required form and manner; the beneficiary's interest vests at the owner's death. The statute authorizes payment to the designated beneficiary and gives the institution a discharge for payment made to the person entitled under the account.

State

Ohio

Statute checked

October 8, 2026

Sources

3 statutes

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At a glance

Accounts covered	Investment share certificates, share accounts, deposits and stock deposits at listed banks, savings institutions and credit unions (§ 2131.10).
How the POD designation is made	Owner's written contract with covered institution; 'payable on death' may be abbreviated P.O.D. (§ 2131.10).
Who may be named	Another person or any entity or organization may be beneficiary (§ 2131.10).
Owner and beneficiary rights before death	Owner may withdraw whole or part and change payee; beneficiary's interest does not vest until owner's death (§ 2131.10).
Joint owner's priority over payee	For a separate either-or-survivor deposit, bank may pay a named owner or survivor; POD section addresses owner's death without ranking joint/POD claims (§§ 1109.07(A), 2131.10).
If a payee dies first	§ 2131.10 ties vesting to owner's death but gives no substitute-payee or estate default if named payee dies first; check contract.
Shares among surviving payees	§§ 2131.10–2131.11 do not assign shares or later survivorship among several payees; check institution contract.
Changing the designation or using a will	Change must use institution-prescribed form and manner; owner retains withdrawal power; statute provides no independent will-change route (§ 2131.10).
Proof, payment, and bank discharge	Institution may pay owner during life or designated beneficiary after death; recipient's receipt or acquittance discharges payment (§ 2131.11).

Requirements one by one

Accounts covered

Under § 2131.10, an adult or minor owner may contract for a POD investment share certificate, share account, deposit or stock deposit at a listed institution transacting business in Ohio. Credit unions are expressly included. Another person, entity or organization can be the beneficiary.

How the designation is made

The owner makes a written contract with the institution (§ 2131.10). The statute permits the account wording “payable on death” or the abbreviation “P.O.D.”

Owner and beneficiary rights before death

§ 2131.10 preserves the owner's power to withdraw all or part of the funds and change the beneficiary. The beneficiary's interest vests only when the owner dies.

Joint owner priority

For a deposit separately placed in the names of two or more persons payable to either or the survivor, § 1109.07(A) authorizes the bank to pay either named person or a survivor. The POD contract statute, § 2131.10, speaks of payment on its owner's death; it does not itself decide competing rights under a joint POD account's terms.

If a beneficiary dies first; several payees

The operative § 2131.10–§ 2131.11 text states when the named beneficiary's interest vests and authorizes payment after the owner dies. It does not specify a substitute for a beneficiary who dies first, equal shares among several payees, or survivorship between them. The written account contract is the starting point for those questions.

Changing a designation or using a will

Under § 2131.10, a change is valid only if executed in the form and manner prescribed by the institution. Its written-contract and change provisions supply the statutory route; Chapter 2107 will provisions cannot override that POD authorization.

Payment and discharge

§ 2131.11 permits payment to the owner during life or the designated beneficiary after death, including interest or dividends. The payee's receipt or acquittance is sufficient to release and discharge the institution for that payment. The section does not set a particular death-certificate or request form.

What trips people up

A beneficiary's designation has no vested interest during the owner's life (§ 2131.10), yet a change must still follow the institution's prescribed form and manner. § 1109.07(A) is a payment-protection rule for a bank with a joint deposit; it does not, by itself, rewrite a POD contract.

Common questions

May a minor own a POD account? Yes. § 2131.10 expressly says a natural person owner may be an adult or minor.

May an organization be named? Yes. § 2131.10 permits an entity or organization as beneficiary.

Statutes and sources

The verbatim statutory passages and official enrolled-act URLs appear in the statutes entries above; each was accessed October 8, 2026.

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

Ohio Rev. Code § 1109.07(A) · accessed 2026-10-08

Ohio Rev. Code § 2131.10 · accessed 2026-10-08

Ohio Rev. Code § 2131.11 · accessed 2026-10-08

This page summarizes state rules for payable-on-death deposit accounts, not advice about a particular account. The signed account agreement, survivorship terms, beneficiary survival, and institution procedures can affect payment. Check current official law and the account contract.

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