What to do when a BCU account holder dies
Contact BCU — 6-step process, 8 required documents, and a specialist reviews the account within 3 business days of notice; estate-account setup takes 2-3 business days once all documents are received. overall timeline varies with probate.
BCU Member Relations
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
BCU Member Relations
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
BCU Member Operations / Specialty Team
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, ATTN: Member Operations
The BCU Member Operations / Specialty Team at BCU coordinates account transitions after a member's death. How each account is handled depends on its setup: POD and trust accounts transfer automatically, while solely-owned accounts typically require court authorization through Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
BCU offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone or by mailing documentation directly.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with BCU:
Filing a claim
- Executor / appointed administrator / responsible individual: a certified copy of the death certificate, a copy of your photo ID, a small estate affidavit (or, if the estate exceeds your state's small-estate limit, court-ordered executor documentation such as Letters), your best contact phone or email, and a signed and dated letter of instruction saying where to send any funds owed.
- Membership or IRA beneficiary: a certified copy of the death certificate, a copy of your photo ID, your best contact phone number, and a signed and dated letter of instruction saying where to send any funds.
- Joint accounts: BCU accounts are held with right of survivorship, so the surviving joint owner retains immediate access; a POD designation on a joint account only takes effect after all owners have died.
- POD beneficiary accounts: each named beneficiary presents proof of death and ID and may claim their EQUAL share (funds divided by the number of beneficiaries).
- No beneficiary and no surviving owner: the funds pass to the estate and are claimed by the estate representative, who must prove authority; BCU may keep honoring account activity until it receives the death certificate and proof of the representative's authority.
- Trust accounts: the successor trustee provides the certified death certificate, trust documentation, and trustee ID.
- IRA accounts: named beneficiaries are contacted by an IRA specialist and complete a BCU-issued Payment Election form (one per IRA type). A non-person beneficiary (trust/estate/charity) is subject to the five-year withdrawal rule.
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Copy of the claimant's government-issued photo ID
- Signed and dated letter of instruction stating where to send any funds owed
- Best contact phone number or email for the claimant
- For estate settlement: a small estate affidavit, or court-ordered executor documentation (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) when the estate exceeds the state small-estate limit
- To open an estate account: membership application, W-9, EIN confirmation letter, court documentation naming the executor, certified death certificate, and executor's ID
- Trust accounts: trust documentation and successor trustee identification
- IRA accounts: BCU-issued Payment Election form (one per IRA type) plus the beneficiary's ID
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Contact BCU Member Relations at 800-388-7000 as soon as possible; a specialist reviews the account within 3 business days and, if you have Digital Banking, sends a Message Center note listing what is missing, otherwise emails you from specialty@bcu.org. Documents can be handed to a branch, mailed to Member Operations at 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, uploaded via the Digital Banking Message Center, or emailed to specialty@bcu.org; the estate-account fax line is Member Operations at 224-207-2624. IMPORTANT: BCU does NOT accept a Last Will and Testament or general will as authority to release funds, because a will can be contested in probate and is not the document that names the estate representative — BCU requires either a small estate affidavit or court-entered Letters. Small-estate limits are the CLAIMANT'S STATE's limits, not automatically Illinois: under CMSA Provision 30 an account is governed by the law of the state of the branch where it was opened, defaulting to Illinois only for accounts opened by mail, phone, or online. Illinois's small-estate affidavit under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 covers personal estate up to $150,000 (excluding motor vehicles registered with the Illinois Secretary of State). BCU has a lien and contractual security interest in account funds and may apply them to any debt the deceased owed (credit cards, loans) before distributing to a beneficiary or the estate. An estate is its own BCU member: opening an estate account requires a membership application, W-9, EIN confirmation letter, court documentation naming the executor, a certified death certificate, and the executor's ID.
Prepare your letter of instruction to BCU
BCU accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to BCU's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionHow long the process takes at BCU: A specialist reviews the account within 3 business days of notice; estate-account setup takes 2-3 business days once all documents are received. Overall timeline varies with probate. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
Documentation required by BCU includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Copy of the claimant's government-issued photo ID, and Signed and dated letter of instruction stating where to send any funds owed, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. An estate at BCU is treated as its own member. To open an estate account, the executor submits a membership application in the name of the estate along with an EIN confirmation letter for the estate, court documentation naming the executor (such as Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration), a certified death certificate, and the executor's government-issued ID. Documents can be submitted via BCU Digital Banking, by fax, or at a Service Center. Allow 2-3 business days for processing once all documents are received.
Equally. BCU determines each beneficiary's share by dividing the funds in the account by the number of beneficiaries designated, so two beneficiaries split 50/50 and three split in thirds. BCU does not accept percentage allocations on a POD designation, and there is no anti-lapse: if one of several beneficiaries dies before you, their equal share passes to their own estate on your death rather than to the surviving beneficiaries. If you want an unequal split you need separate memberships or a trust. To open a trust membership, BCU requires that the trust document allow the trustees to act independently on financial decisions.
IRAs are individual retirement accounts under federal tax law and cannot be owned by a trust without triggering a taxable distribution, so BCU cannot retitle a Traditional, Roth, or Rollover IRA into a trust. You can still name a trust as the IRA beneficiary using BCU's separate IRA beneficiary designation. BCU treats a trust (like an estate or charity) as a "non-person beneficiary," which generally must withdraw the entire inherited IRA within five years of your death if distributions had not already begun. At claim time the beneficiary completes a BCU-issued Payment Election form, one for each IRA type.
BCU joint accounts are held with right of survivorship. When one owner dies, the surviving joint owner retains immediate access to the account and the funds do not pass through probate or to any POD beneficiary. A POD beneficiary designation on a joint account only takes effect after all account owners have died. BCU's Consumer Member Service Agreement also states that, where state law permits, you waive the right to redirect these funds by will — the account's survivorship and POD features on BCU's records control over an inconsistent will.
BCU does not accept a Last Will and Testament as authority to release funds, because a will can be contested in probate and does not itself name the estate representative. Instead, for funds that pass to the estate, BCU asks for a small estate affidavit when the estate is under your state's limit, or court-ordered executor documentation (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) when it is over. The small-estate limit is set by the state whose law governs the account — the state of the branch where it was opened, defaulting to Illinois for accounts opened by phone, mail, or online. Illinois's affidavit under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 covers personal estate up to $150,000, excluding vehicles registered with the Illinois Secretary of State. Accounts that already pass by POD beneficiary, trust titling, or joint survivorship do not need any of this.
BCU's BCU Member Operations / Specialty Team can be reached by phone at 1-800-388-7000, email at specialty@bcu.org, and fax at 224-207-2624 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple BCU accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the BCU Member Operations / Specialty Team to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from BCU primary sources (17 pages reviewed). How we research.
BCU Member Relations
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
BCU Member Relations
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
BCU Member Operations / Specialty Team
BCU, 340 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Vernon Hills, IL 60061, ATTN: Member Operations
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