Transfer on Death (TOD) and Pay on Death (POD)

What this video covers

• The three-step probate bypass workflow: owner dies, court is skipped, beneficiary receives assets directly
• How transfer on death (TOD) applies specifically to brokerage accounts holding securities (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs))
• How pay on death (POD) is the bank-account equivalent for checking, savings, and certificates of deposit (CDs)
• Why TOD and POD are fully revocable during the owner's lifetime, and why the beneficiary has no rights to the account while the owner is alive
• The exact exam trap: beneficiary designations take precedence over testamentary documents (wills) in all cases
• How a TOD designation on a brokerage account overrides contrary instructions in a will, and why the TOD beneficiary wins over the will beneficiary
• The feature-by-feature comparison showing TOD and POD are identical except for the type of account they attach to