We do not see any problem with a sole proprietorship establishing a payable on death (POD) account. Under the Illinois Trust and Payable on Death Accounts Act, a POD account is created when “one or more persons opening or holding an account sign an agreement with the institution providing that on the death of the last surviving person designated as holder the account shall be paid to” a specified beneficiary or beneficiaries. 205 ILCS 625/4. In Illinois, sole proprietorships have no legal identity separate from that of the person who owns it, and the actions and liabilities of the sole proprietorship and its owner are indivisible. Vernon v. Schuster, 179 Ill. 2d 338, 348 (1997). Therefore, we find nothing that prohibits an individual from opening a POD account under the pseudonym of his or her business identity.
Are payable on death beneficiaries permissible on an account owned by a sole proprietorship?
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