What to do when a Capital Group account holder dies
Report the death to Capital Group's Inherited Assets / Death Claims at 1-800-421-4225
After an account holder at Capital Group dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Capital Group's Inherited Assets / Death Claims at 1-800-421-4225 with the proper legal authority documents.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Capital Group requires:
Filing a claim
- To link a bank account, download the Add/Update Bank Information form from the inheritance page
- Indiana center: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, IA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, MT, ND, NE, NV, OH, OR, SD, UT, WA, WI, WY and anywhere outside the U.S.
- Virginia center: AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, VT, WV
- Retirement accounts (IRA, SIMPLE, SEP), Capital Bank and Trust Company: P.O. Box 6164, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6164, or P.O. Box 2560, Norfolk, VA 23501-2560
- Individual, joint and TOD accounts that are not retirement accounts, American Funds Service Company: P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007, or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280
- CollegeAmerica 529 and ABLEAmerica accounts have their own boxes: P.O. Box 6273, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6273, or P.O. Box 2713, Norfolk, VA 23501-2713
Required Documents
- Death certificateA certified copy, returned with the completed claim paperwork.
- Government-issued photo ID, for the beneficiary, executor or successor trustee
- Claim paperwork for the account typeCapital Group mails it after the death is reported by phone.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where no beneficiary was designated and probate is required
- Trust documents and trustee identification, where the account is trust-titled or a trust is the named beneficiary
- Written disclaimer, if a beneficiary disclaims the inheritance
- Add/Update Bank Information form, to link a bank account for receiving distributions
Forms Capital Group issues1
- Claim paperwork for the account type
Completed by the beneficiary, executor or successor trustee. Sent by the institution on request.1
What happens to each kind of account3
- Payable-on-death account
The named TOD beneficiary provides the death certificate and valid government-issued ID. If all contingent beneficiaries have also died, the assets go to the estate of the account owner or owners.1
- IRA
A named beneficiary completes the claim paperwork and elects a distribution method. Every beneficiary type may disclaim the inheritance or take the whole account as a single one-time payment.1
A beneficiary who keeps the assets in an inherited IRA names their own successor beneficiaries on the separate Inherited IRA Beneficiary Change form, not the standard IRA form. Capital Group takes inherited-IRA beneficiary questions by phone.1
- Trust account
Where the account is titled in a trust or a trust is the named beneficiary, the successor trustee provides the death certificate, the trust document and trustee identification.1
Accounts handled elsewhere3
- Capital Bank and Trust Company
Capital Group IRAs and retirement plan accounts, including SIMPLE and SEP IRAs1
Mailing address: P.O. Box 6164, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6164, or P.O. Box 2560, Norfolk, VA 23501-2560
- American Funds Service Company
Individual, joint and TOD accounts that are not retirement accounts1
Mailing address: P.O. Box 6007, Indianapolis, IN 46206-6007, or P.O. Box 2280, Norfolk, VA 23501-2280
- RecordkeeperDirect
RecordkeeperDirect retirement plan accounts1
Phone: 1-800-421-4120
Not in Capital Group's published guidance2
- How long a claim takes
- An online way to report a death
Sources1
Capital Group's Inherited Assets / Death Claims can be reached by phone at 1-800-421-4225 and fax at 1-888-421-4351 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Capital Group primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Capital Group death claims support
Inherited Assets / Death Claims
Phone
Capital Bank and Trust Company IRAs
RecordkeeperDirect retirement plan accounts
Fax for IRA beneficiary paperwork
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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