What to do when a Connexus account holder dies

Unless the Account Agreement says otherwise, a joint account includes survivorship and all sums pass to the surviving owners. The survivor's interest stays subject to the credit union's statutory lien for the deceased owner's obligations and to any pledge the deceased owner granted.¹

A Marital Account is a joint account held by a married couple without right of survivorship. On the death of either spouse, 50% of the balance is owned by the survivor and 50% by the decedent's estate or any surviving payable-on-death beneficiaries.¹

Either spouse on a Marital Account may name a payable-on-death beneficiary for that spouse's own half.¹

On the death of the last owner, the account is payable to all surviving payable-on-death or trust beneficiaries, who take jointly in equal shares without rights of survivorship, unless state law provides otherwise or Connexus permitted and documented a different split.¹

Connexus is not obligated to notify any beneficiary of the existence of an account or the vesting of the beneficiary's interest, except as otherwise provided by law.¹

The Payable on Death Form does not accept "all future accounts", so an account opened after the last designation has no payable-on-death beneficiary. The form covers standard deposit accounts only.²

An individual account with no payable-on-death designation passes to the owner's estate, so the executor or administrator provides Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.¹

The payable-on-death rules do not apply to an account held on behalf of or in the name of a trust. The successor trustee provides the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust plus identification and takes over under the trust.¹

An IRA is claimed on the beneficiary designation filed on form 301, not on the deposit path. The form gives a predeceased beneficiary's share to the other beneficiaries pro rata, and makes the owner's estate the beneficiary if none was named.³

An HSA is outside the deposit claim. Its beneficiary is not set on the Payable on Death Form; HSA and IRA beneficiaries go through Connexus directly.^{4, 2}

"In certain circumstances such as the death or incompetence of an owner of this account, the law permits, or in some cases requires, the waiver of the early withdrawal penalty." Otherwise the penalty is 90 days of dividends for a term of a year or less, 180 days under five years, 365 days for five or more.¹

Certificates renew automatically with a ten calendar day grace period, so a certificate that matures during the estate's administration starts a new term unless notice is given before maturity.¹

Member insurance is claimed separately from the deposit claim and is not handled by the credit union.⁵

TruStage life insurance offered through Connexus⁵

Connexus AD&D coverage (Minnesota Life Insurance Company, form 5880602) and Zurich American Hospital Accident Insurance⁵

Under section 35, "Death of Account Owner", Connexus may honor transactions until it knows of the death, and may keep paying checks, drafts and other authorized payments or transfer orders for ten days after the death unless a person claiming an interest in the account tells it to stop.¹

Connexus may require anyone claiming a deceased owner's account funds to indemnify it for losses from honoring that claim. The agreement is binding on the heirs and legal representatives of any owner.¹

Section 23, "Pledge, Right of Offset and Statutory Lien", gives Connexus a lien on all shares and deposits and the right to apply them to an obligation in default, so a Connexus loan reduces what reaches the estate.¹

Secure Messaging in Digital Banking is the credit union's preferred channel for account-specific material, but it requires the deceased member's login, so a claimant without access uses phone and mail.⁴