What to do when an Addition Financial account holder dies
Report the death to Addition Financial's Member Services at 1-800-771-9411
The Member Services at Addition Financial coordinates account transitions after a member's death. How each account is handled depends on its setup: POD and trust accounts transfer automatically, while solely-owned accounts typically require court authorization through Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Addition Financial:
Filing a claim
- A copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the person claiming
- Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary, if there is no payable-on-death beneficiary or surviving joint owner
Required Documents
- Copy of the death certificateConfirm with the credit union before paying for certified copies.
- Government-issued photo ID, for the payable-on-death beneficiary, surviving joint owner or personal representative
- Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary, when no payable-on-death beneficiary or surviving joint owner takes the accountFrom the probate court where the member lived: a Florida circuit court for most members, a Georgia probate court for members served by the Bainbridge and Thomasville branches.
- Florida disposition-without-administration or summary-administration order, where the estate qualifies
- Georgia small-estate document, where the estate qualifies
- Complete trust document or certification of trust, when a trust is the account owner or the named beneficiary
- Signed, dated stop-payment order, for any outstanding check the estate should not payIdentifies the check number, date, amount and payee.
What happens to each kind of account6
- Account in one name
A single-party account with no payable-on-death designation passes as part of the deceased member's estate and needs court authority. Ownership follows the election initialed on the member's Account Card.1
- Joint account without survivorship
On a multiple-party account without right of survivorship, the deceased party's ownership passes as part of that party's estate and needs court authority.1
- Joint account with survivorship
A multiple-party account with right of survivorship passes to the surviving party or parties, who keep access.1
The Remove Joint Application is signed by the joint owner being removed and must be notarized or witnessed in a branch, so it cannot be used to take a deceased joint owner off an account. That is done at a branch.2
- Payable-on-death account
A single-party account with a payable-on-death designation passes to the named beneficiaries and is not part of the estate; the beneficiary claims with ID and the death certificate. On a survivorship account with a designation, beneficiaries take only at the death of the last surviving party.1
- Fiduciary account
The credit union does not monitor or enforce a trust's terms or a fiduciary's letters.1
The estate's own account is a Specialty Account and requires a branch appointment.3
- Certificate of deposit
Term Share Certificates and Bump-Up Certificates renew automatically at maturity unless someone acts, and the early-withdrawal penalty applies to a break before maturity.3
State law on paying a balance without lettersFlorida, Georgia
- Florida
Fla. Stat. § 735.303
Florida law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit made under oath, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Fla. Stat. § 735.303Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: family member (surviving spouse; else adult child; else adult descendant; else parent)
Limit: $2,000 held at the institution and $2,000 in total from every holder
When: not earlier than 6 months after the date of the decedent’s death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Georgia
O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
Georgia law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: the surviving spouse; else the children; else the father and mother; else the brothers and sisters (subsection (b))
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
Paid to: providers of funeral services and of services for the last illness (subsection (c))
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
When: if no application for the deposit is made by any person named in subsection (b) of this Code section within 45 days from the death of the intestate depositor
The section applies where the person died without a will. The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
What Addition Financial's agreement and guidance say6
- Telling the institution
Members agree to "notify us promptly if any person with a right to withdraw funds from your account(s) dies." The credit union may honor checks, items and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act.1
- Payments after the death
Even after notice, the credit union may "pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death ... for up to ten (10) days after your death unless ordered to stop payment by someone claiming an interest in the account."1
- Powers of attorney
Under the "Convenience Account Agent" clause, a Florida convenience-account agency "is automatically terminated by the death of the owner." The credit union may keep honoring the agent's transactions until it has written notice or actual knowledge and a reasonable opportunity to act.1
Under the "Power of Attorney" clause, a power of attorney "continues until your death." The credit union may keep honoring the agent's transactions until it has written notice or actual knowledge and a reasonable opportunity to act.1
- Deposits after the death
If the credit union has to repay the federal government for a directly deposited benefit payment, it may deduct that amount from the account or from any other account the member holds, without prior notice.1
- Debts owed to the institution
The "Right to Repayment of Indebtedness" clause lets the credit union charge a due and payable debt against any account the member owns.1
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
A dormant account is eventually surrendered to the state, after which the claim goes to the state, not the credit union.1
Not in Addition Financial's published guidance4
- A claim form
- An online way to report a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Sources3
- 1.Important Account Information for Our Members (Terms & Conditions), rev. 02-2024
- 2.Forms
- 3.Contact
30 to 90 days, depending on account structure and estate complexity. A POD or survivorship claim can be completed in one branch visit.
Addition Financial's Member Services can be reached by phone at 1-800-771-9411 and fax at 1-407-333-7920 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Addition Financial primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Addition Financial death claims support
Member Services
Phone
Toll-free
Headquarters / Operations Center (written notice)
Fax
Mailing address
Website
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