There will always be a waiting period on anything that is POD as you must provide a Death Certificate before the change can happen. The rest depends on state law but generally are distributed to the recipient. Of course it that person is under age or in legal trouble they may not be eligible to receive in their own name.

My mother had a number of CDs that had POD on them. We were able to cash them in within a very short period of time. You had to have the death certificate, but the money was available within a week or 10 days after the death, if I recall correctly. The POD certificates are NOT considered part of the estate, so don't go through probate.

If you're the executor, you'll just give each recipient their CD and a copy of the death certificate. Then each will go to the bank, and will be able--after supplying appropriate ID and signing the necessary tax documents--to cash the certificates themselves. As my mother's executrix, I did go to the bank with each of my siblings, just to make sure everything went smoothely for them (it was the same bank I used, where I knew everyone), but my presence really wasn't necessary.

I'm sorry for your loss--I know at this time, you end up having a lot of questions, and wondering where to get answers. I think with the CD's, I went to the bank, first, and asked all the questions, so I knew what to tell my siblings--but honestly, a lot of that time is a bit of a blur to me. But you get through it, I promise

Just to clarify - although POD accounts are not part of the probate process, they ARE counted as part of the estate, for estate tax purposes. Under no circumstances should the executrix/trustee 'not count' POD accounts; that would be a breach of fiduciary duty. A final tax return for the estate must be filed within 18 months of the deceased's DOD.