What to do when a Alerus account holder dies
Contact Alerus's Alerus Wealth - Trust and Fiduciary — 8-step process, 6 required documents, and pod and survivorship deposit accounts release once the death certificate and id are verified; retirement plan distributions are processed after alerus receives the complete claim packet, and the plan document sets the payment options.
Alerus Financial Client Service Center
Alerus Corporate Office, PO Box 6001, Grand Forks, ND 58206-6001
Alerus Wealth - Trust and Fiduciary
Alerus Financial, N.A., PO Box 6001, Grand Forks, ND 58206-6001
Alerus Retirement and Benefits Client Service Center (plan and HSA death benefits); Alerus Financial (deposit and wealth accounts)
Alerus Retirement and Benefits, PO Box 64535, St. Paul, MN 55164-0535
What happens to Alerus accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Alerus's Alerus Retirement and Benefits Client Service Center (plan and HSA death benefits); Alerus Financial (deposit and wealth accounts) (1-800-433-1685) to claim the funds.
Alerus offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Alerus requires:
Filing a claim
- Single-party account with no POD designation: passes as part of the estate (executor or small-estate affiant collects it)
- Multiple-party account with right of survivorship: passes to the surviving party or parties
- Single-party or survivorship account with a pay-on-death designation: passes to the named POD beneficiaries and is not part of the estate — the beneficiary claims directly with a death certificate and ID
- Trust-titled (fiduciary) account: the successor trustee takes over under the trust agreement, no probate step
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, successor trustee, or personal representative
- Beneficiary distribution claim form provided by Alerus Retirement and Benefits (retirement and HSA accounts)
- Marriage certificate, if claiming as surviving spouse under a plan's spousal death benefit
- Trust agreement or certification of trust, if a trust is the beneficiary or the account is trust-titled
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, or a state small-estate affidavit, when the estate takes an account with no POD or survivorship designation
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Two different Alerus teams handle a death: banking (800-279-3200, PO Box 6001, Grand Forks, ND) for deposit, CD, and wealth accounts, and Alerus Retirement and Benefits (800-433-1685, PO Box 64535, St. Paul, MN) for employer plan and HSA death benefits. The ten-day check-payment window and the notify-promptly duty come from the Alerus Consumer Terms and Conditions (effective June 30, 2025); the rights-at-death rules differ by the state where the account was opened (AZ/ND, MN, IA, and WI each have their own section).
Prepare your letter of instruction to Alerus
Alerus asks for a letter of instruction alongside its claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and the enclosure checklist Alerus requires.
Build your letter of instructionOpening an account for the estate itself
Checks made out to the estate deposit into an account titled to the estate, opened by the appointed executor or administrator under the estate's EIN.
How to open an estate account at Alerus →How long the process takes at Alerus: POD and survivorship deposit accounts release once the death certificate and ID are verified; retirement plan distributions are processed after Alerus receives the complete claim packet, and the plan document sets the payment options. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
Documentation required by Alerus includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, successor trustee, or personal representative, and Beneficiary distribution claim form provided by Alerus Retirement and Benefits (retirement and HSA accounts), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
The Alerus Consumer Terms and Conditions require you to notify Alerus promptly when someone with a right to withdraw from the account dies. Until Alerus knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge, it may keep honoring the decedent's checks, items, and instructions. It may also pay or certify checks that were drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten (10) days after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment. Any power of attorney the decedent signed ends at death, so an agent must stop using the account immediately. Call Alerus at 800-279-3200 as soon as you can.
Yes. Under the Alerus Consumer Terms and Conditions, a single-party account with a pay-on-death designation passes at death to the named POD beneficiaries and is not part of the party's estate; a multiple-party account with survivorship and a POD designation passes to the beneficiaries at the death of the last surviving party. A single-party account with no POD designation passes as part of the estate. The rules Alerus applies depend on the state where the account was opened, with separate sections for Arizona and North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. POD beneficiaries are recorded on the signature card, so add or change them at an Alerus office or by calling 800-279-3200.
That account passes through the decedent's estate. Alerus will need a certified death certificate, your photo ID, and your authority to act: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration if probate is open, or the state small-estate affidavit if the estate qualifies. North Dakota allows collection of personal property by affidavit for estates up to $100,000 beginning 30 days after death (N.D.C.C. 30.1-23-01); Minnesota's limit is $75,000 after 30 days (Minn. Stat. 524.3-1201). Alerus can also place an administrative hold on the account if competing claims are made by people asserting survivor or beneficiary rights.
Alerus's Alerus Retirement and Benefits Client Service Center (plan and HSA death benefits); Alerus Financial (deposit and wealth accounts) can be reached by phone at 1-800-433-1685 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Alerus accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Alerus Retirement and Benefits Client Service Center (plan and HSA death benefits); Alerus Financial (deposit and wealth accounts) can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Alerus primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Alerus Financial Client Service Center
Alerus Corporate Office, PO Box 6001, Grand Forks, ND 58206-6001
Alerus Wealth - Trust and Fiduciary
Alerus Financial, N.A., PO Box 6001, Grand Forks, ND 58206-6001
Alerus Retirement and Benefits Client Service Center (plan and HSA death benefits); Alerus Financial (deposit and wealth accounts)
Alerus Retirement and Benefits, PO Box 64535, St. Paul, MN 55164-0535
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