What happens to your Cenlar accounts when you die
Covers 1 lending accounts — all transfer through probate
Brand change
On February 11, 2026, Pennymac Financial Services announced a definitive agreement to acquire Cenlar's subservicing business (up to $740 billion in unpaid principal balance across roughly 2 million loans). The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals; Cenlar surrenders its bank charter concurrently with closing, and the subserviced loans move onto Pennymac's servicing platform.
Cenlar is now part of PennyMac. The procedures below reflect Cenlar's accounts during the transition. View the PennyMac estate planning page.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
Cenlar balances are a debt, not an asset. There is nothing to designate a beneficiary on and nothing to retitle into a trust: what the account holder owes at death becomes a claim against the estate, paid from estate assets before anything is distributed to heirs.
Estate planning around Cenlar means knowing the balance exists. An executor pays the estate's debts before its heirs, so an unlisted balance is what stalls an estate late — after distributions have already gone out. Relatives do not personally inherit the debt; a co-signer or joint account holder remains obligated on their own account.
When the account holder dies, the executor notifies Cenlar, obtains the balance owed as of the date of death, and resolves it through the estate's creditor process. The steps and required documents are on the death claim page.
Cenlar accounts carry no beneficiary designation, because there is nothing to leave: the balance is owed, not held. It is settled by the estate as a creditor claim rather than passed to anyone.
Why trust accounts are not available
Cenlar balances cannot be moved into a trust. Trust funding retitles what someone OWNS; a debt stays with the estate, which pays it before the trust or the heirs receive anything.
Sources
Data sourced from Cenlar primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
Cenlar Homeowner Support (loan servicing)
Cenlar FSB, 425 Phillips Blvd., Ewing, NJ 08618. Because loans are subserviced under a private label, the servicing phone number and correspondence address printed on the monthly statement may differ from these corporate contacts and should be used when they appear. Homeowners manage the loan and use secure messaging at loanadministration.com. Cenlar's published homeowner line is 1-800-2Cenlar (1-800-223-6527); it does not publish customer-service hours or a separate estate/deceased-account line on its contact page.
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