1. A. When a deposit has been made or shall hereafter be made in any bank in the names of two or more persons, payable to any of them or payable to any of them or the survivor, such deposit, or any part thereof, or any interest thereon, may be paid to either of the persons, whether one of such persons shall be a minor or not, and whether the other be living or not; and the receipt or acquittance of the person so paid shall be valid and sufficient release and discharge to the bank for any payment so made.

2. B.

   1. 1. When a deposit has been made or shall hereafter be made in any bank using the terms "Payable on Death" or "P.O.D.", such deposits shall be payable on the death of the account owner to a trust designated in the deposit account agreement as the "P.O.D." beneficiary, or to an individual or individuals named beneficiary if living and if not living, to the named estate of the beneficiary, notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in Sections 41 through 57 of Title 84 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Such deposit shall constitute a contract between the account owner, (or owners, if more than one) and the bank that upon the death of the last surviving owner of the account, and payment of account proceeds to any secured party with a valid security interest in the account, the bank will hold the funds for or pay them to the named beneficiary or the estate of the named beneficiary.

   2. 2. In order to designate multiple payable-on-death beneficiaries for a deposit account, the account should be styled as follows:

      "(Name of Account Owner), payable on death (or P.O.D.) to (Name of Beneficiary), (Name of Beneficiary), and (Name of Beneficiary, in equal shares.)"

   3. 3. Adjustments may be made in the styling, depending upon the number of owners of the account, to allow for survivorship rights, and the number of beneficiaries. It is to be understood that each beneficiary is entitled to a proportionate share of the account proceeds only after the death of the last surviving account owner, and payment of account proceeds to any secured party with a valid security interest in the account. In the event of the death of a beneficiary prior to the death of the owner, the share of the beneficiary shall go to the estate of the beneficiary. It is not permissible for an account to designate unequal shares for different payable-on-death beneficiaries.
   4. 4. A bank may require the owner of an account to provide an address for any payable-on-death beneficiary. If the P.O.D. account is an interest-bearing account and the funds are not claimed by the payable-on-death beneficiary or beneficiaries within sixty (60) days after the death of the last surviving account holder, or after the bank has notice of the death of the last surviving account holder, whichever is later, the bank has the right to convert the account to a non-interest-bearing account.
   5. 5. No change in the designation of a named beneficiary shall be valid unless executed by the owner of the fund and in the form and manner prescribed by the bank; however, this section shall be subject to the provisions of Section 178 of Title 15 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
   6. 6. The receipt or acquittance of the named beneficiary so paid or the legal representative of such named beneficiary's estate, if deceased, shall be valid and sufficient release and discharge to the bank for any payment so made, unless, prior to such payment, the bank receives notice in the form and manner required in Section 905 of this title.
3. C. The provisions of this section shall apply to all forms of deposit accounts, including, but not limited to, transaction accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal (N.O.W.) accounts, and M.M.D.A. accounts.

Laws 1965, SB 1, c. 161, § 901; Amended by Laws 1979, SB 254, c. 173, § 6; Amended by Laws 1980, SB 556, c. 360, § 7, emerg. eff. June 27, 1980; Amended by Laws 1991, HB 1706, c. 128, § 7, emerg. eff. April 29, 1991; Amended by Laws 1994, SB 1028, c. 313, § 1, eff. September 1, 1994; Amended by Laws 1997, HB 2173, c. 111, § 76, emerg. eff. July 1, 1997 (superseded document available); Amended by Laws 2001, HB 1469, c. 55, § 5, eff. November 1, 2001 (superseded document available).