What to do when an American Heritage account holder dies
Report the death to American Heritage's Account Services Department at 1-800-342-0008
When a member of American Heritage passes away, the Account Services Department handles the transition of accounts to beneficiaries or the estate. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate, while solely-owned accounts may require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with American Heritage:
Filing a claim
- The member's name, date of birth, Social Security number or account number, and date of death
- Your name and contact information
- Original death certificate
- Valid government-issued ID
- The original notarized affidavit, if a Pennsylvania Family Member or Funeral Director Affidavit applies
- The member's name, date of birth, Social Security number or account number, date of death, and your name and contact information
- Original death certificate
- The completed American Heritage Information Sheet (or the Member Services Request Form for a joint account)
- Any state documents that apply: Short Certificate, L-8, Form 0-1 (IT-R), Form O-81, paid funeral bill, or the original notarized Family Member or Funeral Director Affidavit
Required Documents
- Original death certificate, for all account typesAmerican Heritage asks for the original, not a certified copy: its Information Sheet says "Original Death Certificate and/or Short Certificate must be evaluated by American Heritage".
- Copy of valid identification for the person settling the account
- American Heritage Information Sheet (Deceased Member Information Sheet), for a single-owner or beneficiary account
- Member Services Request Form, for a joint-owned account, to close it or remove the deceased joint owner, and to close an estate or trust account
- Paid-in-full funeral bill, Funeral Director Affidavit, or Family Member Affidavit, for a Pennsylvania resident's single-owner account small enough to be paid without a Short CertificateAn affidavit is signed before a notary and 2 witnesses, and the original is returned to the credit union in person or by mail. A fax or scan is not accepted.
- Short Certificate (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration), for a Pennsylvania resident's single-owner account too large to be paid under the affidavitsFrom the county Register of Wills.
- Short Certificate from the county Surrogate's Court, for a New Jersey resident's single-owner account, unless the estate is small enough for Form O-81
- L-8 self-executing waiver affidavit, for a New Jersey Class A transferee
- Form 0-1 (IT-R) tax waiver, for a New Jersey non-Class A transfereeIssued only by the NJ Division of Taxation; it cannot be downloaded.
- Form O-81, for a New Jersey resident's estate small enough to use Form O-81 in place of a Short CertificateFrom the deceased person's county taxation office.
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, if a trust holds or receives the account
Forms American Heritage issues4
- Deceased Member Information Sheet
Available to download.1
- Member Services Request Form
Available to download.2
- Family Member Affidavit
Available to download. Must be notarized.3
- Funeral Director Affidavit
Available to download. Must be notarized.4
What happens to each kind of account7
- Account in one name
With no payable-on-death or beneficiary designation, the balance is payable to the estate of the deceased owner.5
An individual account is restricted to block future automatic deposits and payments. It is unenrolled from eStatements, and paper statements keep going to the address on file.5
- Joint account with survivorship
A joint account is not restricted, so recurring items keep posting until the surviving owner gives instructions.5
A surviving joint owner cannot keep the same account number: the existing account is closed, and the joint owner opens a new one if they meet the field of membership.5
- Payable-on-death account
The funds are distributed directly to the named beneficiaries.5
- Trust account
The trust agreement is reviewed case by case.5
- Certificate of deposit
Certificates stay open until the account is closed, and no early-withdrawal penalty is assessed.5
- IRA
The IRA is closed without penalty. A non-spousal beneficiary opens a Beneficiary IRA, at a branch or through a Video Advisor, and the funds are paid into it, ending IRS reporting under the deceased owner's Social Security number.5
A spousal beneficiary may take the funds into their own IRA or open a Beneficiary IRA. With no beneficiary, the balance is payable to the estate.5
- Loan
Every loan is reviewed for credit life coverage, and American Heritage submits the claim if coverage exists.5
State requirements American Heritage statesNew Jersey
- New Jersey
For a non-Class A transferee, American Heritage applies the New Jersey Blanket Waiver: it releases 50% of the balance once the documents are complete and holds the rest until it receives Form 0-1 (IT-R) from the NJ Division of Taxation.5
For a Class A transferee with the L-8 affidavit, the full balance is paid once the documents are received. Joint accounts follow the same split: Class A joint owners keep access, and non-Class A joint owners get 50% now and 50% on the waiver.5
State law on paying a balance without lettersPennsylvania
- Pennsylvania
20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)
Pennsylvania law directs a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $20,000 held at the institution
When: at any time after the death of a depositor, member or certificate holder
Paid to: the spouse; any child; the father or mother; any sister or brother
The section sets further conditions.
What American Heritage's agreement and guidance say9
- Telling the institution
American Heritage may learn of a death from the Social Security Administration, the PA Department of Revenue, the Department of Veterans Affairs, a published obituary or other sources, and will reach out on its own.5
- Payments after the death
Under Section 44, American Heritage may honor transfers, withdrawals and deposits until it knows of a death, and even then "may continue to pay checks or drafts drawn on a deceased member's account for a period of ten days after the member's death" unless someone claiming an interest tells it to stop payment.6
- What it does when notified
Once notice of the death is received, checks presented for cashing or deposit are returned and the account may be restricted from deposit activity. All debit and credit cards in the deceased owner's name are closed immediately.5
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
American Heritage may require anyone claiming funds from a deceased owner's account to indemnify it for any losses if it honors the claim.6
The signer of the Family Member Affidavit swears they are the person having preference for payment and agrees to indemnify and hold American Heritage harmless for any claims connected with the payment.3
- Powers of attorney
A power of attorney and a guardianship end at the primary owner's death, and American Heritage removes the agent or guardian from the account.5
- Debts owed to the institution
On a loan in the deceased owner's name alone, American Heritage exercises its right of offset, paying off the loan before paying out any funds.5
- Deposits after the death
Social Security benefits deposited to the account may have to be returned.5
- Who can get account information
On written request with an original death certificate and an original short certificate, an executor gets the date-of-death value, the account title at the date of death, the date the account was opened and the date it was made joint.5
For an account that was joint or had a named beneficiary, the executor gets no statements without written authorization from the surviving joint owner or beneficiary.5
Not in American Heritage's published guidance1
- How long a claim takes
American Heritage's Account Services Department can be reached by phone at 1-800-342-0008, email at membership@amhfcu.org, and fax at 1-215-969-1246 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from American Heritage primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
American Heritage death claims support
Account Services Department
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Toll-free
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