What to do when a Dollar Bank account holder dies
Report the death to Dollar Bank's Customer Service / Estate Notification at 1-800-242-2265
When an account holder at Dollar 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 Dollar Bank's Customer Service / Estate Notification (1-800-242-2265) to access and distribute the funds.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Dollar Bank:
Filing a claim
- A surviving joint owner, on a joint account
- The legal representative of the deceased depositor
- Any other person with an interest in the account
- Payable-on-death and in-trust-for accounts: the named beneficiary requests disbursement of the funds designated to them on the Signature Card
- Joint accounts: the surviving owner presents the death certificate; the account passes by survivorship
- Accounts without a beneficiary: Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or the governing state's small estate affidavit
- Trust accounts: the successor trustee presents trust documentation evidencing trustee authority
- Custodial accounts: the custodian's written notice of the minor's death, or documentation designating a successor custodian
Required Documents
- Death certificate
- Valid government-issued photo ID, for each beneficiary or claimant
- Written notice of the deathA letter you draft, with the deceased owner's full name, the account numbers, the date of death, and your name, relationship and contact information.
- Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or a small estate affidavit, for an account with no beneficiary and no surviving joint owner, presented by the personal representativeThe small estate affidavit is the one of the state that governs the account: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia or Maryland, depending on the branch that opened it.
- Trust documentation evidencing successor-trustee authority, for a trust account, presented by the successor trustee with the death certificate and IDThe Bank may require originals or notarized signatures, may review the trust agreement, and may charge a document review fee.
- The custodian's written notice, or proof of a properly designated successor custodian, for a custodial (UTMA/UGMA) account
- IRA Beneficiary Designation form and inherited IRA application, for an IRA, as applicableThe beneficiary presents the death certificate and ID and completes the applicable IRA distribution or inherited IRA forms.
Claims Contact
Website: Online portal →
What happens to each kind of account4
- Payable-on-death account
Payable-on-death and in-trust-for accounts "use a statutory procedure to automatically transfer your account to the beneficiaries designated on the Signature Card upon your death." The beneficiary "may then withdraw the funds in accordance with Bank procedures and applicable law."1
- Joint account with survivorship
"Upon the death of a joint tenant, the surviving owner has the right to all the funds in the account subject to the Bank's right of setoff and security interest in the account."1
On an AND account, every owner must jointly authorize a closing or withdrawal.1
Start Smart Checking and Start Smart Savings accounts co-owned with a parent or guardian are joint accounts and pass to the surviving owner the same way.2
- Custodial account (UTMA/UGMA)
The custodian "must notify the Bank immediately in writing upon the death of the minor." On the custodian's death, the Bank recognizes only a successor custodian properly designated by the previous custodian or one assuming the role under applicable law.1
- Certificate of deposit
The Bank "permits, without penalty, the withdrawal of any amount of principal from a certificate or time deposit before maturity only upon the death or judicially-declared incompetence of the depositor." This covers CDs and Retirement Savings Time Deposits (IRA CDs).1
"The Bank reserves the right to require the signatures of all joint account holders (both AND and OR accounts) for any withdrawal of principal from a certificate of deposit prior to maturity."1
State law on paying a balance without lettersPennsylvania
- 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.
What Dollar Bank's agreement and guidance say4
- Telling the institution
"Neither death nor legal adjudication of incompetence revokes the Bank's authority to accept, pay or collect items until the Bank actually knows of the fact of death ... and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on it."1
"Each joint account owner agrees to notify the Bank upon the death of any other joint account owner."1
- Payments after the death
Even after it knows of the death, the Bank "shall have the right to pay any checks, withdrawals or other items and to carry out any transfer orders for ten (10) days after the date of death," unless a surviving joint owner, the legal representative or another person with an interest in the account tells it to stop.1
- What it does when notified
"The Bank reserves the right to refuse to process withdrawals from your account until all legal requirements pursuant to a case of death or incompetency are fulfilled in accordance with applicable law."1
On being told of a death, the Bank "may continue to honor items, other payment orders and withdrawal requests made by any joint owner(s), in accordance with applicable state law."1
- Which state governs the account
An account is governed by the law of the state where the branch or office that opened it is located: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia or Maryland. An account opened by mail or online is governed by Pennsylvania law.1
Not in Dollar Bank's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
- How long a claim takes
Sources2
Dollar Bank's Customer Service / Estate Notification can be reached by phone at 1-800-242-2265 and email at customerservice@dollarbank.com for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(1)·
Data sourced from Dollar Bank primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Dollar Bank death claims support
Customer Service / Estate Notification
Phone
Debit and credit cards
Mortgages and loans
Legal notices
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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