What to do when a CommunityAmerica account holder dies
Report the death to CommunityAmerica's Estate Representative / Account Settlement at 1-800-892-7957
The Estate Representative / Account Settlement at CommunityAmerica 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.
Death claim process
The death claim process at CommunityAmerica works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Name of the decedent
- Date of death
- Decedent's address at time of death
- Name and contact information of the person reporting the death
- Name of the decedent
- Date of death
- Decedent's address at time of death
- Name and contact information of the person reporting the death
Required Documents
- Certified death certificateCommunityAmerica states it is unable to settle any account until an official death certificate is provided.
- Valid driver's license, state ID or passport, for the person reporting the death
- Probate documentation, if applicable
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for accounts with no payable-on-death beneficiary and no surviving joint owner
- Small-estate affidavit, notarized, for a small estate, in place of probate and LettersProvide the notarized affidavit and a certified death certificate to the Estate Representative.
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust, and trustee identification, if a trust is the account owner or the named beneficiary
- IRA beneficiary claim documentation, for a Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Certificate IRA or Coverdell ESA balance
- Other documents the Estate Representative asks for, based on the Estate Representative's account review
What happens to each kind of account5
- Account in one name
For an account with no beneficiary and no joint owner, the executor or administrator presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.1
- Joint account with survivorship
The balance of a joint or multiple party account belongs to the surviving owners. Their interest stays subject to the credit union's statutory and consensual lien, its right of set-off, and any pledge the deceased owner granted, even one the survivor never consented to.1
- Payable-on-death account
Surviving named beneficiaries share equally under the most recent designation, on proof of death and government-issued ID.1
- Certificate of deposit
A share certificate is settled on its own beneficiary designation. If it has none and no joint owner, it becomes an estate asset, whatever the payable-on-death designations on the member's other accounts.1
- IRA
IRAs and Coverdell ESAs are settled on the separate IRA beneficiary form, not on any payable-on-death designation, and fall outside the branch process.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersTennessee, Texas
- Tennessee
T.C.A. § 45-2-708
Tennessee law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.T.C.A. § 45-2-708Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
When: 30 days after the death
Paid to: the executor named in any will known to the institution; in the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor: a creditor for expenses of the funeral; a creditor for the expenses of the last illness; the surviving spouse; the next of kin
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
T.C.A. § 30-2-103(b)(2)
Tennessee law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.T.C.A. § 30-2-103(b)(2)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $10,000 held at the institution
When: six (6) months have passed since the decedent's death without an application being made for the appointment of a personal representative
Paid to: the surviving spouse of a decedent or a trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse; if no surviving spouse exists, the surviving children of the decedent as tenants in common or a trust for the benefit of any surviving children (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Texas
Tex. Est. Code § 152.051
Texas law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an order of the court, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Tex. Est. Code § 152.051Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: a funeral home or the applicant, for funeral and burial expenses
Limit: $5,000 in total from every holder
When: the application may be filed "not earlier than the third day after the date of the decedent's death and not later than nine months after the date of the decedent's death"
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere3
- CommunityAmerica Wealth Management (Copper Financial)
Guided Investing and Wealth Management accounts, outside the branch process1
Phone: 1-800-892-7957
- TruHome Mortgage Servicing
An outstanding mortgage of a deceased member1
Phone: 1-913-214-3345
- CommunityAmerica Account Resolution Counselor
Repayment alternatives for a deceased member's other loans1
Phone: 1-800-892-7957
What CommunityAmerica's agreement and guidance say10
- What it does when notified
An administrative freeze may be placed on accounts to protect assets during the Estate Representative's review.1
- Deposits after the death
Government benefit payments deposited in the month of death or after may be returned, if required.1
- Telling the institution
CommunityAmerica may continue honoring transfers, withdrawals, deposits and other transactions until it is notified of the death and given satisfactory evidence, such as a certified death certificate or court order.2
- Payments after the death
Even after notice, it may pay drafts or honor payment orders the member authorized for ten days after that date, unless someone claiming an interest in the account tells it to stop payment.2
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
Anyone claiming the owner's account funds may be required to indemnify the credit union against losses from honoring the claim.2
- Debts owed to the institution
The agreement asserts a statutory lien, a consensual lien and a right of set-off, and states that any payment to a joint owner or beneficiary is subject to that security interest. A loan or overdraft the deceased member owed can reduce what a payable-on-death beneficiary receives.2
- Disputes between claimants
If a dispute over a payable-on-death designation arises after the death, the credit union may freeze the accounts until it is resolved and may require an original death certificate.2
- Fees
If the credit union needs legal or other professional advice to review documents a beneficiary's representative or a claimant submits, it may deduct those costs, including reasonable attorney fees, from the account.2
- Wills, probate and small estates
Where there is no beneficiary designation, no probate proceeding and no estate, CommunityAmerica may, but is not required to, pay the funds to any heir, who is then solely responsible for further distribution, or hold the funds until a proper court order is presented.2
It may require documentary evidence satisfactory to it before releasing funds to any claiming party.2
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
Dormant accounts are escheated to the state and carry a $50 escheatment fee.1
CommunityAmerica's Estate Representative / Account Settlement can be reached by phone at 1-800-892-7957 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from CommunityAmerica primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
CommunityAmerica death claims support
Estate Representative / Account Settlement
Phone
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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Free forms for settling an estate: probate petition, small estate affidavit, creditor notice and closing forms. Prepare each form for your state.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
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