What to do when an Alliant account holder dies

Sent by the institution on request.¹

All sums pass to the surviving owner by right of survivorship, subject to Alliant's statutory lien for the deceased owner's obligations.¹

Alliant treats a savings, supplemental savings or certificate account with beneficiaries as a revocable trust account, and pays the named surviving beneficiaries once the documents are received.¹

Checking with no joint owner is transferred to the primary savings account and paid to that account's joint owner or named beneficiaries. A checking account cannot carry its own beneficiary.¹

Where there is no joint owner, beneficiary or trust, the executor or administrator provides Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or a state small estate affidavit.¹

The successor trustee provides the trust agreement or a certificate of trust naming the trustee and successor trustee, with the signature and notary seal. If all original trustees have died, an EIN from the IRS and the death certificates are also needed.¹

Alliant accepts trust documents only where the account itself is a trust account. It will not take a trust in place of a small estate affidavit or Letters for an individually titled account.¹

A deceased member's loan may be transferred to a joint owner or co-borrower, or handled by the estate by paying it off or refinancing. Third-party payments are accepted on auto loans, credit cards, HELOCs, personal loans and personal lines of credit.^{2, 3}

Alliant mortgages, which it services¹

ARIS investment accounts, settled with the ARIS consultant, not the Member Care Center^{2, 3}

Tax documents are released to a joint owner on request, to an executor with Letters and photo ID, or to a sole beneficiary with the death certificate and photo ID. Multiple beneficiaries must request them through the executor.^{2, 3}

Alliant may require anyone claiming a deceased owner's account funds to indemnify it for losses resulting from honoring the claim.²

Alliant cannot accept a will in place of Letters or a small estate affidavit: "Alliant does not accept wills or provide legal advice."²

Alliant cannot accept a power of attorney after the member has died, because a power of attorney is only in effect while a person is living.¹

Representatives cannot discuss the account until the required documents are received and processed.¹

Online banking access to the deceased member's account is locked. Alliant grants temporary access only in limited cases where a joint owner is joint on every account in the membership.¹

Alliant states the account must be settled within 180 days of the death notification.¹

To keep the account active, survivors contact Alliant about membership eligibility no later than 6 months after the date of death.¹

The membership and member number must be closed when the deceased member was the primary owner. A joint owner who is not already a member opens their own membership at open.alliantcreditunion.com.^{2, 3}

Alliant may keep honoring checks, payments and transfer orders the member authorized for 10 days after it is notified of the death, unless someone claiming an interest instructs it to stop payment.^{2, 3}

Automatic transfers and bill pay keep running while the membership and accounts stay open.^{2, 3}

Checks made payable to a deceased member are not accepted for deposit.^{2, 3}

Alliant attempts to stop Social Security (SSA/SSI) deposits immediately and returns any payment received after the date of death, so the estate does not have to repay it. A joint owner's own Social Security deposits continue and must be redirected by contacting SSA.^{2, 3}