What to do when a BankUnited account holder dies
Report the death to BankUnited Client Care Center at 1-877-779-2265
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 Client Care Center (1-877-779-2265) to claim the funds.
To start, call BankUnited at 1-877-779-2265. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate ready before you call.
Death claim process
The death claim process at BankUnited works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Payable-on-death and joint-survivorship claims move as soon as the death certificate and the claimant's ID are verified; an estate claim waits on Letters from the probate court
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- Your government-issued photo ID
- Your appointment or beneficiary paperwork (Letters, trust documents, or nothing more than ID if you are the named POD payee)
- Payable-on-death or in-trust-for payee: present the death certificate and your ID; multiple surviving payees split the balance equally
- Surviving joint owner, or in Florida the surviving spouse on a tenancy-by-the-entirety account: present the death certificate and have the account retitled
- Personal representative: present Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Small Florida estate: ask whether the bank will accept a summary administration order or an order of disposition of personal property without administration in place of full Letters
- Successor trustee: present the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust plus ID
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, personal representative, or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, trust documents, or a Florida summary-administration order, as applicable
- A signed cover letter with the deceased person's full name, date of death, account numbers, your capacity, your contact information, and your instruction to stop honoring checks
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant, the payable-on-death beneficiary, surviving joint owner, personal representative, or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for an estate accountBankUnited accepts appointments from a state other than where the account was opened. It may require U.S. court documents for a decedent who lived outside the U.S.
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, plus the successor trustee's ID, for a trust-titled account
- Small-estate court order or document, if used in place of LettersA Florida summary administration order, an order of disposition of personal property without administration, or another state's small-estate document. Ask whether the bank will accept one.
- Estate EIN, if opening an estate account
- Cover letter written by the claimantGive the deceased person's full name, date of death and account numbers, your capacity, your contact information, and your instruction to stop honoring checks.
What happens to each kind of account7
- Payable-on-death account
On a payable-on-death, "In Trust For" or "Totten Trust" account, the beneficiary must survive the owner, or the last surviving joint owner. Surviving beneficiaries share the proceeds equally.1
If no beneficiary survives, the account reverts to an individual or joint account and falls into the estate.1
- Joint account with survivorship
The funds belong to the surviving joint owners, who present the death certificate to have the account retitled.1
- Account in one name
An account in one name with no payable-on-death designation "will belong to the individual's estate and will be administered by the person(s) designated or appointed by court order." The representative supplies Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.1
- Fiduciary account
Under the "Fiduciary account" designation, BankUnited states that "at no time will we owe any fiduciary duties to you or any owner of the account nor will we undertake an obligation to enforce or monitor the terms of any Trust Agreement."1
- Certificate of deposit
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.1
- IRA
On an 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.1
State requirements BankUnited statesFlorida
- Florida
BankUnited offers tenancy by the entirety, for spouses, only in Florida. A Florida joint account is treated as tenancy by the entirety unless the signature card says otherwise, and on a death it belongs to the surviving spouse.1
State law on paying a balance without letters4 states
- Florida
Permits a bank to pay up to $2,000 on an affidavitFla. Stat. § 735.303Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- Georgia
Permits a bank to pay up to $15,000 on an affidavitO.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- New York
Permits a bank to pay up to $30,000 on an affidavitN.Y. SCPA § 1310Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- Texas
Permits a bank to pay up to $5,000 on an order of the courtTex. Est. Code § 152.051Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Spring EQ LLC
Consumer home equity lines opened through BankUnited's referral since March 2, 20262
Phone: 1-888-978-9978
What BankUnited provides to the estate1
What BankUnited's agreement and guidance say8
- Telling the institution
The Deposit Account Agreement requires prompt notice of an owner's or authorized signer's death. Until it is notified, BankUnited "may act as if all owners and authorized signers are alive and competent."1
- What it does when notified
After notice, BankUnited may freeze the account, refuse transactions, and reverse or return deposits. It is not required to release funds until it receives the documents it reasonably requests to verify the death and to determine who is entitled to the money.1
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."1
- Payments after the death
BankUnited "may continue to honor checks for up to ten (10) days following notification to the Bank of the death of the account owner" unless a validly appointed representative or another account owner tells it to stop.1
- Deposits after the death
Under the "Direct Deposits" clause, BankUnited may deduct a federal benefit payment it must return to the Federal Government "from the account or from any other account you have with us, without prior notice and at any time," including electronically deposited Social Security.1
- Debts owed to the institution
BankUnited's right of setoff does not extend to trust, fiduciary, IRA or tax-qualified retirement accounts.1
- What it says about taxes
The agreement states: "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."1
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
BankUnited charges a $15 monthly Dormant Checking Account Fee and a $15 monthly Dormant Savings Account Fee after 24 months of inactivity. Essentials Checking is exempt.3
Unclaimed balances are eventually surrendered to the state under the Unclaimed Property/Dormant Accounts clause.1
- Fees
BankUnited charges a $100 Legal Processing Fee for "processing of any garnishment, tax levy, or other court administrative order against your accounts, whether or not the funds are actually paid."3
A notary costs $2 and an official (cashier's) check $10. BankUnited charges no overdraft or NSF fee and no per-day overdrawn-balance fee.3
Not in BankUnited's published guidance5
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form to download
- A mailing address for claim documents
- How long a claim takes
- Safe deposit box access requirements
Sources3
- 1.Deposit Account Agreement, Rev. 08/2025
- 2.Contact Us
- 3.Schedule of Fees and Related Charges for Consumer Accounts, Rev 7/2025
BankUnited Client Care Center can be reached by phone at 1-877-779-2265 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from BankUnited primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
BankUnited death claims support
BankUnited Client Care Center
Phone
Banking center locator
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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