Payable-on-Death Deposit-Account Beneficiary Rules in Texas
At a glance
| Accounts covered | Estates Code Ch. 113 includes checking, savings, CDs and share deposits at banks and credit unions; its broader account definition also includes securities (§ 113.001(1), (3)). |
|---|---|
| How the POD designation is made | Written agreement signed by original payee(s) for death transfer; § 113.052 provides optional selection form, and near-equivalent deposit contract qualifies (§§ 113.051–.052, 113.152(a)). |
| Who may be named | A person, trustee of written express trust, or qualifying charitable organization may be a POD payee (§ 113.001(2-a), (5)). |
| Owner and beneficiary rights before death | Original payee owns POD account during life; named POD payee does not; original payee may request payment (§§ 113.103(a), 113.204(a)). |
| Joint owner's priority over payee | POD payees take only after death of the surviving original payee when two or more original payees are named (§§ 113.004(4), 113.152(a)). |
| If a payee dies first | Surviving POD payee(s) take; if none survives, account rights pass with last original payee’s estate (§§ 113.152(a), 113.155). |
| Shares among surviving payees | Two or more surviving payees take, with no later survivorship between them unless account or deposit agreement expressly provides it (§ 113.152(a)–(b)). |
| Changing the designation or using a will | Party may alter form or payment by signed written order received by institution during life; transfer is contractual and nontestamentary (§§ 113.157–.158). |
| Proof, payment, and bank discharge | Proof that payee survived every original payee permits payment; authorized payment discharges institution, subject to its written stop-notice exception (§§ 113.001(6), 113.204, 113.209). |
Requirements one by one
Accounts covered
Section 113.001(1) includes cash deposits such as checking, savings, certificates of deposit and share accounts. Its broader chapter definition also reaches securities accounts, which this deposit-account comparison does not analyze. Section 113.001(3) includes credit unions as financial institutions; § 113.0531 gives them a separate disclosure and form-flexibility rule.
How the POD designation is made
A POD account pays one or more original payees during their lives and named POD payees after all original payees die (§ 113.004(4)). For that death transfer, § 113.152(a) requires a written agreement signed by the original payee or payees. A guardian of the estate or an attorney in fact or agent may sign for an original payee under subsection (c). Sections 113.051–.052 allow a contract substantially like the statutory sample form but do not make that precise form the only route; a different contract is governed by the chapter provisions most closely fitting the depositor's intent.
Who may be named
Section 113.001(5) includes a person, a trustee of an express trust evidenced by writing, or a qualifying charitable organization as POD payee. The chapter defines that charitable category by federal exemption in § 113.001(2-a).
Owner and beneficiary rights before death
The original payee owns the account during life; a POD payee does not (§ 113.103(a)). The institution may pay a requesting original payee before death (§ 113.204(a)).
Joint owner's priority over payee
With two or more original payees, the POD transfer waits for the death of the survivor (§ 113.152(a)). The chapter's definition of a POD account likewise places payment to POD payees after the death of all persons entitled to payment during life (§ 113.004(4)).
If a payee dies first
Section 113.152(a) gives the remaining balance to surviving POD payees, including the survivor when another named payee died before the original payee. If no POD payee survives, § 113.155 transfers the deceased party’s rights with the estate because § 113.152 no longer supplies a surviving payee.
Shares among surviving payees
If two or more payees survive, § 113.152(b) says there is no later right of survivorship between those payees unless the account or deposit agreement expressly provides one. Section 113.152 names the payees as recipients but does not set an equal-share fraction in its text; the account terms and other ownership issues matter to the actual split.
Changing the designation or using a will
A party may change the account form or stop or vary payment by a signed written order that the institution receives during the party's lifetime and that has not been countermanded by another written order of that party (§ 113.157). Section 113.158 treats the resulting death transfer as contractual, not testamentary. The sample form in § 113.052 warns that a will may not control funds in some listed account types.
Proof, payment, and bank discharge
Section 113.001(6) includes a certified death certificate or qualifying court judgment as proof of death. The institution may pay a POD payee after proof that the payee survived each original payee (§ 113.204(b)). Under § 113.209(a), authorized payment discharges the institution even if beneficial ownership is disputed; subsection (b) limits that protection after the specified written stop notice.
What trips people up
A POD label by itself is not the § 113.152(a) signed written agreement. A financial institution may also use a different deposit-contract form under § 113.051(b), so the account record and its signatures matter. The chapter separately allows credit unions to combine and vary the statutory disclosure format (§ 113.0531).
Common questions
Can a charitable organization be named?
Yes, if it meets the defined category in § 113.001(2-a), (5); a trustee of a written express trust may also be named.
Can a party change the POD instructions by letter?
Section 113.157 allows a signed written order changing account form or payment terms if the financial institution receives it during that party's lifetime and it is not countermanded.
Does payment by the institution resolve an ownership dispute?
No. Section 113.209 protects an authorized payment by the institution but expressly leaves rights among parties and successors unaffected.
Statutes and sources
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.001 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.004 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.051 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.052 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.0531 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.103 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.152 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.155 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.157 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.158 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.204 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
- Tex. Est. Code § 113.209 — official chapter (accessed 2026-10-08).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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