What to do when a CEFCU account holder dies

The Certification and Agreement (form 743) answers this in advance: the trustee elects either that the remaining trustees may act without appointing a successor, or that a named successor trustee takes over, and the successor's name and address go on the form. If no trustee remains able to act, the same Agreement lets CEFCU require satisfactory evidence — expressly including a copy of the will or trust agreement — to determine which beneficiary is entitled to the assets. Until CEFCU receives actual notice with satisfactory evidence that a trustee has died, resigned, or been removed, it may keep relying on the certification already on file.

Yes. All CEFCU Member Centers offer the Medallion Signature Guarantee, restricted to CEFCU members, for the sale, assignment, transfer, or redemption of a security — the imprint most transfer agents demand before retitling a decedent's stock, bonds, mutual funds, or some annuities. CEFCU's Medallion Checklist asks for the account number, unexpired photo ID, the completed but unsigned transfer documents, the most recent statement showing ownership and value, the stock certificate if there is one, the brokerage's written instructions, and proof you are the appropriate person to sign — Death Certificate, Letters of Office, Trust Agreement, or Power of Attorney documents. The Medallion program is expressly not available for beneficiary changes or account maintenance.

Often, yes. Joint accounts pass to the surviving member, and accounts carrying a Totten Trust Designation pass to the named beneficiaries on presentation of a certified death certificate and photo ID. Where an account is an estate asset, CEFCU accepts Letters of Office issued by an Illinois probate court, and small estates can avoid probate entirely: Illinois allows a small estate affidavit under 755 ILCS 5/25-1 for personal property up to $150,000 with no statutory waiting period, and CEFCU's California members can use an affidavit under Cal. Prob. Code § 13100 at least 40 days after the death for personal property up to $208,850. A surviving spouse who is not already a member has six months from the death to establish CEFCU membership in their own right.