Could you explain "opt in – opt out?"
If a customer opts in, their account will work as it does today. When they go to a merchant to make a purchase using their debit card and there are insufficient funds in the account, the charge will be approved up to their overdraft limit and they will be charged the $30 overdraft fee. If a customer opts out and there are insufficient funds in the account, the debit card transaction will be declined.
This is a two part question – we have a joint checking account with you and have most of our monthly bills automatically debited out of the account (i.e. mortgage, utilities), in the event of our simultaneous death, what happens to the account, is it frozen pending estate processing or will the debits continue until discontinued or funds depleted? Second question is – is there a way to add a trustee or beneficiary to the account so that someone can have access to the funds to pay necessary expenses until estate is processed? Doing some estate planning and did not know how things work at your bank.
The automatic debits will continue to process on the account until the funds are depleted or if there is not a beneficiary listed on the account, until the account is closed by the administrator of the estate. You may stop by one of our branches and speak with a Customer Service Representative. They will be able to add a beneficiary onto the account making it a POD (payable on death) account.
We would like to start a college fund for our daughter. But if she doesn’t attend college, we’d like to be able to use the money as a nest egg to start her life. What college-savings plan would give us the most flexibility?
A 529 account would probably also work in your situation. Because you’re primarily interested in a college fund, a 529 would let you take advantage of a slew of tax breaks: Your contributions may be eligible for a state tax deduction, your savings would grow tax-deferred, and the earnings would escape tax altogether if the money is used for qualified educational expenses, such as tuition, fees, and room and board. But if your daughter doesn’t go to college, you still have some control over the money. You could transfer the funds to another family member and preserve the tax benefits, or withdraw the money and pay income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.
We would like to start a college fund for our daughter. But if she doesn’t attend college, we’d like to be able to use the money as a nest egg to start her life. What college-savings plan would give us the most flexibility?
A 529 account would probably also work in your situation.
Because you’re primarily interested in a college fund, a 529 would let you take advantage of a slew of tax breaks: Your contributions may be eligible for a state tax deduction, your savings would grow tax-deferred, and the earnings would escape tax altogether if the money is used for qualified educational expenses, such as tuition, fees, and room and board.
But if your daughter doesn’t go to college, you still have some control over the money. You could transfer the funds to another family member and preserve the tax benefits, or withdraw the money and pay income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.
