Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Re: Payable Upon Death Clause

You are mixing different concepts. IRA's have beneficiary designations, they are not "payable on death" accounts. Most IRA custodians will allow a "per stirpes" designation to provide for distribution to the descendants of a pre-deceased beneficiary. It is generally a bad idea to allow an IRA to go through probate.

Non-IRA investment accounts may be designated as "transfer on death" (TOD) to a beneficiary (A bank account can be POD payable on death). Check with investment company to see what type of designations they allow, it may be limited. Whether this is better and whether it will accomplish your goals depends entirely on the full picture and situation.