What to do when a BankUnited account holder dies
Contact BankUnited — 6-step process, 7 required documents, and bankunited does not publish a claims timeline. pod and joint-survivorship claims move as soon as the death certificate and claimant id are verified; an estate claim waits on letters from the probate court.
BankUnited Client Care Center
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
BankUnited Client Care Center
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
BankUnited Client Care Center (no dedicated estate or claims department is published)
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
What happens to BankUnited 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 BankUnited's BankUnited Client Care Center (no dedicated estate or claims department is published) ((877) 779-2265) to claim the funds.
To start, call BankUnited at (877) 779-2265. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate ready before you call.
Death claim process
The death claim process at BankUnited works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Call the Client Care Center at (877) 779-2265 (Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM ET; Saturday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET)
- Or visit a BankUnited banking center
- Payable on Death / "In Trust For" / "Totten Trust": the beneficiary must survive the owner (or the last surviving joint owner). Surviving beneficiaries share the proceeds EQUALLY. If no beneficiary survives, the account reverts to an individual or joint account and falls into the estate
- Joint account with right of survivorship: the funds belong to the surviving joint owner(s), who present the death certificate to have the account retitled
- Florida tenancy by the entirety (spouses only, and offered only in Florida): the account belongs to the surviving spouse
- Single ownership with no POD: the account "will belong to the individual's estate and will be administered by the person(s) designated or appointed by court order" — supply Letters of Administration / Letters Testamentary
- Trust-titled account: supply the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust and the successor trustee's ID
- IRA CD: the named beneficiary claims by beneficiary designation and completes distribution paperwork; the CD early-withdrawal penalty is waived on the owner's death
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD beneficiary, surviving joint owner, personal representative, or successor trustee)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration for an estate account (BankUnited accepts appointments from a state other than where the account was opened; it reserves the right to require U.S. court documents for a decedent who resided outside the U.S.)
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust plus successor trustee ID (trust-titled accounts)
- Florida summary administration order or order of disposition of personal property without administration under Fla. Stat. ch. 735, or another state's small-estate document, if used in place of Letters
- Estate EIN, if opening an estate account
- A claimant-drafted cover letter — BankUnited publishes no death-claim form
What to know at this institution
BankUnited publishes no dedicated estate settlement or death-claims page, and no downloadable claim form — the process is governed entirely by the "Death or Incompetence" clause of the Deposit Account Agreement (Rev. 08/2025) and is run through the Client Care Center at (877) 779-2265 and the banking centers. What that clause actually says: you must promptly notify the bank of an owner's or authorized signer's death; until then it may act as if everyone is alive and competent. After notice, BankUnited may freeze the account, refuse transactions, and reverse or return deposits, and it is not required to release funds until it receives whatever documents it reasonably requests to verify the death and to determine who is entitled to the money — and it keeps those rights "even if a surviving joint owner, a POD payee, or a beneficiary of an ITF or trustee for account has rights to the account." It may keep honoring checks for ten days after notice unless told to stop. Two clauses often surprise heirs: (1) "If we have any tax liability because of paying funds in an account to you or your estate, you or your estate will be responsible for repaying us the amount of that tax." (2) The Direct Deposits and Right of Setoff clauses let BankUnited pull back a federal benefit payment it must return to the government from that account or ANY other account of the holder, without prior notice — including electronically deposited Social Security. The setoff right does NOT extend to trust, fiduciary, IRA or tax-qualified retirement accounts. Florida-specific: tenancy by the entirety is offered only in Florida, and an account there is treated as tenancy by the entirety unless the signature card says otherwise — which means a married Florida couple's joint account usually passes to the surviving spouse outside probate. CD-specific: the early withdrawal penalty is waived on the death or legal incapacity of a CD owner, so the estate is not penalized for breaking the CD.
Prepare your letter of instruction to BankUnited
BankUnited accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to BankUnited's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
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 BankUnited →How long the process takes at BankUnited: BankUnited does not publish a claims timeline. POD and joint-survivorship claims move as soon as the death certificate and claimant ID are verified; an estate claim waits on Letters from the probate court. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
BankUnited requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD beneficiary, surviving joint owner, personal representative, or successor trustee), and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration for an estate account (BankUnited accepts appointments from a state other than where the account was opened; it reserves the right to require U.S. court documents for a decedent who resided outside the U.S.), and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Equally. BankUnited's Deposit Account Agreement (Rev. 08/2025) states that "if more than one beneficiary is named in our records, they will share equally in the account proceeds." There is no percentage-allocation option on a POD account (which BankUnited also calls an "In Trust For" or "Totten Trust" account). A beneficiary acquires rights only by surviving the account owner or the last surviving joint owner; if no named beneficiary survives, the balance falls back into the individual or joint account and passes through the estate. If you need an unequal split, use separate accounts or title the account in a revocable trust instead.
No. BankUnited is a commercial and consumer bank with no wealth management, trust administration, or estate settlement division, and it publishes no estate page and no downloadable death-claim form. Everything runs through the Client Care Center at (877) 779-2265 (Monday-Friday 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM ET, Saturday 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET) and its banking centers, under the "Death or Incompetence" clause of the Deposit Account Agreement. Call first to get the document list for the specific account titles involved, then bring or mail a certified death certificate, your photo ID, and your appointment or beneficiary paperwork with a signed cover letter.
Under the "Death or Incompetence" clause, BankUnited may keep honoring checks for up to ten days after it is notified of the death unless a validly appointed representative or another account owner gives stop-payment instructions — so report the death and ask for a stop in the same call. Separately, the "Direct Deposits" and "Right of Setoff" clauses let BankUnited deduct a government benefit payment it has to return to the Federal Government from that account or from any other account the holder had, without prior notice. Any Social Security or VA payment that posts after the date of death should be treated as reclaimable and left alone. That setoff right does not reach trust, fiduciary, IRA, or tax-qualified retirement accounts.
Probably. BankUnited's Deposit Account Agreement offers tenancy by the entirety only in Florida, and it says an account "will be considered a tenancy by the entirety account unless the signature card indicates otherwise." On the death of one spouse the account belongs to the surviving spouse, so it passes outside probate. The agreement also notes BankUnited is not required to determine whether an account is a tenancy-by-the-entirety account before responding to a garnishment or other legal process. If you want a different result — for example, the account owned by your revocable trust — you have to say so on the account documentation.
No. The Deposit Account Agreement (Rev. 08/2025) waives the early withdrawal penalty in the case of the death or legal incapacity of an owner of the CD, so a POD beneficiary or a personal representative can redeem the CD before maturity without the standard penalty. The waiver applies to retirement (IRA) CDs too, but the agreement warns that an early withdrawal of principal from a retirement CD may still carry other penalties and tax consequences under applicable law. Confirm the treatment with the Client Care Center at (877) 779-2265 before redeeming an IRA CD.
BankUnited's BankUnited Client Care Center (no dedicated estate or claims department is published) can be reached by phone at (877) 779-2265 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple BankUnited accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The BankUnited Client Care Center (no dedicated estate or claims department is published) can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from BankUnited primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
BankUnited Client Care Center
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
BankUnited Client Care Center
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
BankUnited Client Care Center (no dedicated estate or claims department is published)
BankUnited, N.A., 14817 Oak Lane, Miami Lakes, FL 33016
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