How Registering Entities Set the Rules
Each financial institution that offers TOD registration gets to decide the specifics. That means the procedures for naming beneficiaries, changing them, or canceling a TOD designation can vary from one institution to another. Arizona law gives them flexibility to establish terms that fit their operations, as long as the underlying protections of the article still apply.
A registering entity that offers to accept registrations in beneficiary form may establish the terms and conditions under which it will receive and implement these requests as well as requests for cancellation of previously registered transfer on death beneficiary designations and requests for reregistration to effect a change of beneficiary.
A.R.S. § 14-6310(A)This covers practical details like how the institution verifies a death, how it handles fractional shares when multiple beneficiaries are involved, and how it processes changes to beneficiary designations during the owner's lifetime.
Per Stirpes Substitution and Registration Examples
One notable feature is the "LDPS" designation, which stands for "lineal descendants per stirpes." If you add this notation after a beneficiary's name, it means that if your named beneficiary dies before you, their share passes to their own descendants rather than lapsing.
The registering entity may indicate a beneficiary substitution by appending to the name of the primary beneficiary the letters "LDPS" or the words "lineal descendants per stirpes". This designation substitutes a deceased beneficiary's descendants who survive the owner for a beneficiary who fails to survive.
A.R.S. § 14-6310(B)The statute also provides several illustrations of how TOD registrations look in practice. A sole owner naming a sole beneficiary might read: "John S Brown TOD John S Brown Jr." Joint owners with a primary and substitute beneficiary might use: "John S Brown Mary B Brown JT TEN TOD John S Brown Jr LDPS." These examples are standardized formats that financial institutions can adopt to keep registrations clear and consistent.
