My mother is getting ready to open additional CD's. In the past she has used POD to have my brother's name added in case of worst ... . Her bankers have told her that since the CD's are so high in value that they will go to probate court anyway with the POD.

Now she wants to simply add my brother's name as co-owner on the CD. She is concerned whether or not this constitutes a gift and is taxable as a gift - merely adding the name as co-owner, or what other tax consequences might arise by merely changing from POD to co-owner of the CD.

Thanks for responses.

I am going to respectfully disagree with the information that has been provided.
The purpose of naming a beneficiary is so that money can be transferred upon the death of the owner without a will being probated. If mom has that much money, she may need to speak with an estate planner who can assist with minimizing inheritance taxes, as well as structuring her deposits to increase FDIC coverage.
However, if her only goal is to avoid probate, any assets with a named beneficiary do not have to be probated. Ohiobar.org Q & A on probate

Thanks crowman3. I thought that the bank's statement on named beneficiary and the necessity of probate might be off. I am not certain if that is supposed to be their policy or law - thanks for the law reference. Your thought on the estate planner makes sense in your world, but not in mother's. Believe me.

Side note, be careful if any of these CDs are also IRAs. There could be tax implications to the estate or the beneficiary.

Thank you ^^