What to do when a Bank of America account holder dies

Completed by the entitled party (the executor or person handling the deceased person's affairs), to say where the disbursed funds are sent or transferred. Sent by the institution on request. Must be notarized.¹

Completed by the beneficiary or beneficiaries named on the account, to say where the disbursed funds are sent or transferred. Sent by the institution on request. Must be notarized.¹

Completed by the surviving owners of a joint checking or savings account, to update the account signers. Sent by the institution on request.¹

Completed by the account owner, to name who receives the funds when the owner dies. Sent by the institution on request.¹

Completed by whoever adds a new owner to the account during title maintenance. Sent by the institution on request.¹

Sent by the institution on request.¹

Completed by a person with a vested ownership interest in a property because the borrower died. Available to download.¹

Closed, and the funds are distributed to the entitled parties. The formal probate or small estate process determines when and how the funds are released, and the estate representative provides the state-specific court documents confirming their authority.²

Not part of the estate process. The surviving owner or owners keep full ownership, and the title is updated once the bank receives a copy of the death certificate and an updated signature card.²

The agreement presumes every joint account has the right of survivorship. When a co-owner dies the funds belong to the surviving co-owners, subject to the bank's right to charge the account for any amount either owes it.³

Part of the estate process. The funds are split between the surviving owner or owners and the estate, and more documents may be needed depending on the account type and state requirements.²

Not part of the estate process. The funds pass to the beneficiary or beneficiaries after the bank receives the death certificate and the Letter of Instruction form.²

A beneficiary has no interest in the account until the owner or last co-owner dies, and must be alive to take. The bank may pay the balance, less its own claims, to the surviving beneficiaries jointly or in equal shares.³

Not part of the estate process. Successor trustees named in the trust agreement carry on the role of the trustees when they can no longer serve.²

Treated the same as a personal account. The applicable state legal documents (formal probate or small estate) are needed to close it and disburse the funds.²

The agreement's early withdrawal penalty runs from seven days' interest on a CD of less than 90 days to 365 days' interest on a CD of 60 months or longer. Its Early Withdrawals section lists no exception for the owner's death.³

On a Flexible CD the bank waives the early withdrawal penalty except for withdrawals within the first six days of the term, or the first six days after a partial withdrawal.⁴

A successor custodian must be appointed, even if the minor is of legal age. The new custodian brings the documents to a financial center with two forms of identification.²

Handled at the financial center that houses the box. A joint renter can remove the deceased person's name or close the box. A box in one name needs documents approving access, and they must match the state where the box is located.²

A card in one name is closed and authorized users are removed; a card held by a surviving borrower stays open. A balance is collected from the estate, not from the estate representative personally. Rewards may be redeemed at an authorized estate representative's request, unless an accountholder survives.²

Distribution depends on whether there are entitled beneficiaries, and includes the option of a lump sum or moving the funds into an inherited Money Market IRA.²

Taxation documents are required for any change to an account opened in New Jersey or held by a New Jersey resident. A 50% hold is placed on joint accounts at notification, and the taxation documents must be filed before it is lifted.²

For a Texas resident, probate documents for accounts in one name must be court-filed and accompanied by a judge's order.²

For a Florida resident, documents presented to collect an account in one name must be issued by a probate court, except for certain low-dollar balances.²

Merrill investment accounts⁵

Bank of America Private Bank accounts¹

The agreement asks for prompt notice, in writing, when an owner or authorized signer dies. Until the bank receives notice of the death it may act as if every owner and signer is alive.³

Once notified, the bank may hold the account and refuse deposits and withdrawals until it receives the documents it asks for to verify the death and the authority and identity of the person acting for the estate.³

Before receiving documents, the bank typically places balance holds on accounts in one name, closes debit cards and blocks credit cards, cancels automatic transfers and recurring transactions, suspends fees, and suspends online, mobile and telephone banking, including Bill Pay.¹

A deposit payable to the deceased owner that is credited after the death, including salary, pension, Social Security or SSI, may be debited from the account and returned to the payer.³

Federal benefit payments received after the death are returned to the government, and no funds can be paid out until the reclamation review is complete. A non-government pension is returned only when the pension company asks and the estate representative approves.²

The bank may recover certain deposits credited after the death from any of the customer's accounts with it, under its right of set-off.³

Where it believes there may be a dispute over who is entitled to the funds, the bank may freeze them, pay them into court, or refuse to pay until the dispute is resolved. Its expenses, including attorneys' fees, may be charged to the account.³

"An agent's power of attorney on an account is terminated when the account owner dies." The bank may keep recognizing the agent until it has notice of the death and a reasonable time to act on it.³

The agreement is governed by federal law and the law of the state where the account is located, ordinarily the state of the financial center where it was opened. Otherwise it is the state of the owner's address if the bank has a financial center there, and failing that generally Virginia.³

The bank accepts a small estate affidavit executed under the laws of the state where the deceased person was a resident. It notes that "certain states require a waiting period after the date of death prior to executing a small estate affidavit."¹

The bank may follow court orders and take direction from court-appointed personal representatives from states other than where the account was opened. It may require U.S. court documents for a customer who lived outside the U.S. at death.³

For an account in one name, funds are paid to the named beneficiaries if there are any. Where probate documents are presented, checks are made payable to the "Estate of" the deceased customer; where small estate documents are presented, checks are often issued in the name of the affiant or claimant.¹

The deceased person's Online Banking ID is closed after the bank receives the death certificate. A joint owner needs an Online Banking profile of their own to keep managing the accounts.²

At a surviving co-owner's request, the bank can recover Bill Pay information and transfer it to a different online ID in certain scenarios. It is not done automatically and is subject to review and approval.¹