What to do when an Apple Bank account holder dies
Report the death to Apple Bank's Estate Settlement Services at 1-800-722-6888
What happens to Apple Bank 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 Apple Bank's Estate Settlement Services (1-914-902-2775) to claim the funds.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Apple Bank:
Filing a claim
- Full legal name
- Account numbers, if known
- Date of death
- Your name, relationship to the deceased person, and contact information
Required Documents
- Death certificateFor a Totten Trust or payable-on-death release, the deposit agreement says the bank "may require" a certified death certificate. For a joint account it asks for "death certificate, passbook, etc."
- Government-issued photo ID, for the person claiming or administering the account
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the account was owned individually with no beneficiary and the estate is probated
- New York small-estate (voluntary administration) affidavit, in place of Letters, if the estate qualifies
- New Apple Bank Certificate of Trust (form B-483), if the account is held in trustNotarized and signed by all then-serving trustees. It supersedes the certificate on file.
- Bank signature guarantee, when the bank asks for one before releasing funds to a Totten Trust or payable-on-death beneficiary
- Court order appointing a guardian of the property, if a beneficiary is under 18 and the deposit is over $10,000
- Court order discharging the guardian, if the account was a guardianship account for an incapacitated adult
Forms Apple Bank issues1
- Certificate of Trust (form B-483)
Completed by all then-serving trustees. Available to download. Must be notarized.1
What happens to each kind of account5
- Joint account with survivorship
The bank may treat the account as the sole property of the surviving owner or owners, and may require documents such as the death certificate and passbook before releasing funds. Where a Totten Trust account is held by joint owners, the joint-account rules take precedence.2
- Payable-on-death account
On a Totten Trust, In Trust For or payable-on-death account, the balance belongs to the surviving named beneficiaries in equal shares, unless the bank has a court order directing otherwise. The bank may require a certified death certificate, proper identification and a bank signature guarantee.2
The owner's will can revoke the beneficiary designation: the bank pays the beneficiary only where the owner "has not specifically revoked the Totten Trust account in his or her Last Will and Testament."2
- Trust account
The bank asks for a death certificate and a new Apple Bank Certificate of Trust (form B-483) signed by all then-serving trustees. The new certificate supersedes the one on file.2
- Account in one name
An account owned individually with no beneficiary is released on Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, or on a New York small-estate (voluntary administration) affidavit if the estate qualifies.2
- Fiduciary account
On a guardianship account for an incapacitated adult, the deposit agreement requires a court order discharging the guardian before the bank pays the estate.2
State law on paying a balance without lettersNew York
- New York
N.Y. SCPA § 1310
New York law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit made under oath, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.N.Y. SCPA § 1310Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: surviving spouse
Limit: $30,000 in total from every holder
When: forthwith
Paid to: surviving spouse, children eighteen or older, either parent, brother or sister, niece or nephew, or at their request a creditor or the person who paid the funeral expense
Limit: $15,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than thirty days after the death
Paid to: a distributee, a creditor, or the person who paid the funeral expenses
Limit: $5,000 held at the institution and $5,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than 6 months after the death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Apple Bank Retirement Services Department
IRA and Keogh/QRP beneficiary claims, trustee transfer requests and notifications3
Phone: 1-917-675-7970
Fax: 1-212-299-8123
Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-4:30 PM ET
Mailing address: Apple Bank Retirement Services Department, 1075 Central Park Avenue, Suite B09, Scarsdale, NY 10583-3242
What Apple Bank provides to the estate1
- Date-of-death balance letter
Branch Banking Support handles asset verifications, such as a date-of-death balance letter for the estate inventory. Write to Apple Bank, Branch Banking Support, 122 E 42nd Street, Suite 630, New York, NY 10168, or fax 212-414-2630.3
What Apple Bank's agreement and guidance say4
- Telling the institution
Anyone with knowledge of the death can begin the notification.3
- Powers of attorney
The account owner's death terminates a power of attorney, but the bank is not bound by the termination until it receives actual written notice "at the office where the decedent's account is located" and has had a reasonable time to act on it.2
An agent's transactions after the death can still bind the estate until that notice reaches the branch.2
- Who can get account information
Apple Bank verifies your authority to receive account information and proceeds.3
- How proceeds are paid
After the documents are approved, the balance is released to the beneficiary, surviving joint owner, successor trustee or estate representative. An estate bank account can be arranged through Estate Settlement Services.3
Not in Apple Bank's published guidance3
- How long a claim takes
- A claim form
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Apple Bank's Estate Settlement Services can be reached by phone at 1-800-722-6888, email at custline@applebank.com, and fax at 1-212-414-2630 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Apple Bank primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
Apple Bank death claims support
Estate Settlement Services
Phone
Toll-free
Retirement Services (IRA/Keogh claims)
Retirement Services Fax
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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