Can You Bypass Probate With CDs?

Always name a beneficiary for your accounts so that your heirs can skip the probate process

Elderly couple talking about transferring their CDs in their wills

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Certificates of deposit (CDs) often form part of an inheritance. These are low-risk investments, available through any bank, credit union, or brokerage, that allow people to deposit some spare cash for a short period of time in return for a modest return.

They might turn out to be particularly valuable as a source of ready cash for your loved ones in the event of your death. You need to make sure they get access to that cash without delay, and that means bypassing the probate process.

There are two ways to do this:

  • Record the name of the beneficiary or beneficiaries on the account, and keep it updated as needed. Your account will have an option to fill in or edit your beneficiary information.
  • Open a joint account rather than an individual account. The co-owner will have immediate access to the account.

Either step will get the money into the hands of your heirs without the delay of probate, the judicial process that validates the distribution of an estate.

It's important to note that you should take one or the other of these steps on all of your financial accounts, not just CDs, in order to free your heirs from the delay of a probate process.

Key Takeaways

  • Certificates of deposit (CDs) are treated the same as other forms of property during the inheritance process. 
  • Just as with other types of accounts, you can hold a CD as a joint account with your spouse or name a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary. The account will pass to the co-owner or to your named beneficiary without going through probate. 
  • If you hold a CD on your own and there is no POD beneficiary, it will normally have to go through the probate process to validate your intentions.
  • This is not a special benefit of a CD. Many types of financial accounts let you do the same.

How Probate Affects Savings Accounts

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are treated just like any other account when it comes to the inheritance process. Though probate is often used to decide who will inherit particular assets after someone passes away, it’s important to recognize that there are other ways of passing on accounts that are simpler and cheaper than probate.

There are three common ways to inherit property and only one of these involves probate:

  1. Jointly owned property passes directly to the co-owner without involvement from probate courts. This applies to joint accounts (including joint CDs), and real estate that is owned jointly.
  2. Contract property includes life insurance, retirement accounts, and any non-retirement accounts that have named beneficiaries. That designation overrides any will. You need to add the designated heir to the personal information on the CD account.
  3. The third category is everything else. All property not covered above will generally have to go through probate.

These procedures apply to all types of accounts and property, including CDs.

It’s worth naming a payable-on-death beneficiary for your CD accounts. This will allow your heirs to inherit the CD directly, rather than pass through the time-consuming and expensive process of probate.

Avoiding Probate for Your CDs

If you want to avoid probate for the money you hold in your CD, the two options are to add a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary to your account or to hold it as a joint account.

Holding a CD As a Joint Account

CDs can be held as joint accounts, but the rules on joint bank accounts vary by state.

In some states, if one owner of a joint account passes away, the other owner is automatically given full ownership of the account. The maturity date on the CD usually stays the same. Once it reaches maturity, the joint account owner can close it and withdraw the funds. 

In other states, joint accounts work differently. If a joint owner of a bank account dies, the funds will be split between the surviving owner and the estate of the deceased. In this case, the bank will normally close the CD—perhaps waiving the early withdrawal penalty, perhaps not—and distribute the funds as instructed.

No matter how your state or bank deals with joint CD accounts, however, it will not have to pass through probate if you hold it in this way.

Adding a POD Beneficiary

Some CD accounts allow the owner to name a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary. This is the person who will automatically inherit the funds in a CD if the account owner dies.

Some banks will terminate a CD when the account owner dies and allow the POD beneficiary immediate access to these funds. Other institutions will make them wait until the CD reaches maturity.

In either case, the CD will not have to go through probate.

Can I Inherit a CD?

Yes. CDs are treated the same as regular bank accounts when it comes to inheritance proceedings. If you are the joint owner of a CD, you’ll generally get full ownership of the account automatically.

Do CDs Have to Go Through Probate?

It depends. If a CD is held jointly or if it has a named payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary, it will normally pass directly to the co-owner or named heir.

Otherwise, the CDs must be validated through the probate process just like any other assets.

Can I Use a CD to Avoid Probate?

You can, by holding the account jointly or naming a POD beneficiary. Many bank accounts allow you to do either.

In this sense, there is little difference between a CD and a standard savings account: A CD doesn’t have particular advantages when it comes to avoiding the probate process.

The Bottom Line

Certificates of deposit (CDs) are treated the same as other forms of property during the inheritance process. Just as with other types of accounts, you can hold a CD as a joint account with your spouse or name a payable-on-death beneficiary.

In either case, the money in the CD is transferred without going through probate. If you hold a CD on your own and there is no POD beneficiary, it will normally have to go through probate.

Article Sources
Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.
  1. National Credit Union. "Payable-on-Death Accounts."

  2. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. "Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance: Revocable Trust Accounts (12 C.F.R. § 330.10)," Select "IX.  Informal Revocable Trust Accounts (Payable-on-Death)."

  3. The American Bar Association. "The Probate Process."

  4. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau. "I Have a Joint Account with Someone Who Died. What Happens Now?"

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