Payable on death is the term used on POD or Totten trusts that indicate that the contents of the account are to be transferred to the named person upon the death of the account owner. Payable on death designations keep the accounts from being considered part of the estate and as such are not required to go through the probate process. Should the owner of the account desire, the payable on death designation can be removed either directly from the account or by transferring the assets of the account via distribution through a will. Should the beneficiary listed on the payable on death account predecease the owner of the account, the account will generally revert back to part of the estate and the gift will be considered to have lapsed.