What to do when a Community Bank account holder dies
Report the death to Community Bank's Customer Care Center at 1-866-764-8638
When an account holder at Community Bank passes away, the next step depends on how the accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Community Bank's Customer Care Center (1-315-229-3775) to access and distribute the funds.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Community Bank requires:
Filing a claim
- The laws of the state where the deceased person lived, not where the account was opened
- Your relationship to the deceased person
- The kinds of accounts held at Community Bank: checking, savings, IRAs, money market or health savings accounts
Required Documents
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant
- Death certificate
- Short Certificate (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration), if the estate is administered through probateIn New York, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the Surrogate's Court; in Pennsylvania, the Short Certificate issued by the Register of Wills.
- Small estate affidavit or state-specific transfer documentation, if the estate qualifies as a small estate in the state where the deceased person lived
- Trust agreement or Certification of Trust, if accounts are held in trust
- Other estate and state documents, as the branch directs, based on the state where the deceased person lived and the kinds of accounts held
What happens to each kind of account5
- Account in one name
An account in one name with no beneficiary passes to the estate and requires a Short Certificate or the state's small-estate documents.1
- Joint account with survivorship
The bank may honor withdrawal requests from any surviving owner after the death of any owner, and may treat the account as the sole property of the surviving owner or owners.2
- Payable-on-death account
Community Bank's deposit account with named beneficiaries is called a "Revocable Trust Account." Beneficiaries may withdraw only once all persons who created the account have died and the beneficiary is then living.2
Several surviving beneficiaries of a Revocable Trust Account take equal shares, without right of survivorship.2
- IRA
An IRA passes to the beneficiary named on that account's own designation form.1
- Health savings account
A health savings account passes to the beneficiary named on that account's own designation form.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersMassachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania
- Massachusetts
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 167D, § 12
Massachusetts law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 167D, § 12Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $10,000 held at the institution
When: after the expiration of 30 days from the death of such depositor
Paid to: the surviving spouse of said deceased depositor; if there be no surviving spouse, the next of kin of such deceased (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- New York
N.Y. SCPA § 1310
New York law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit made under oath, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.N.Y. SCPA § 1310Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: surviving spouse
Limit: $30,000 in total from every holder
When: forthwith
Paid to: surviving spouse, children eighteen or older, either parent, brother or sister, niece or nephew, or at their request a creditor or the person who paid the funeral expense
Limit: $15,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than thirty days after the death
Paid to: a distributee, a creditor, or the person who paid the funeral expenses
Limit: $5,000 held at the institution and $5,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than 6 months after the death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Pennsylvania
20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)
Pennsylvania law directs a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $20,000 held at the institution
When: at any time after the death of a depositor, member or certificate holder
Paid to: the spouse; any child; the father or mother; any sister or brother
The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere4
- Nottingham Trust, Oneonta trust office
Trust-owned assets, and trustee and estate-settlement services1
Phone: 1-607-433-4122
Fax: 1-607-433-3515
- Nottingham Trust, Olean trust office
Trustee and estate-settlement services1
Phone: 1-866-764-8638
Fax: 1-716-372-9121
- Loan Center (Residential Loans and Lines)
A Community Bank mortgage on inherited property, including recognition as a successor in interest1
Phone: 1-888-907-1171
- Consumer Loans and Lines
Other consumer loan balances1
Phone: 1-800-682-3982
What Community Bank's agreement and guidance say5
- Telling the institution
Account holders agree to notify the bank promptly when an account holder or authorized signer dies (section 13, "Death/Incompetence/Bankruptcy").2
- Payments after the death
Death does not end the bank's authority to pay items, including checks the deceased person signed, until it receives written notice of the death and has a reasonable chance to act.2
Even after notice, the bank may pay checks the deceased person drew before death, as applicable law permits, so outstanding checks may keep clearing after the date of death.2
- Deposits after the death
The bank may keep accepting deposits and collecting deposited items until it receives written notice of the death and has a reasonable chance to act.2
- Debts owed to the institution
The bank's right of set-off survives the death. It may apply funds in the account to any debt owed to it or an affiliate without prior notice or demand, even from a joint account for one owner's debt, and may take funds from a single-owner account to reduce a joint debt.2
The bank is not liable for dishonoring a check that bounces because of a set-off, and the customer agrees to hold it harmless.2
- Which state governs the account
Community Bank's deceased-account FAQ says the documents required depend on the laws of the state where the deceased person lived, "not where the account was opened."1
Section 2 of the Deposit Account Agreement governs the account by the law of the state where it was opened. For an account not opened in person, it is the customer's state of residence if the bank has a deposit-taking branch there, otherwise New York, the home-office state.2
Not in Community Bank's published guidance3
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- A fax number for claim documents
- How long a claim takes
Sources2
Community Bank's Customer Care Center can be reached by phone at 1-866-764-8638 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Community Bank primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Community Bank death claims support
Customer Care Center
Phone
Toll-free
Hours
Website
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