What to do when a Edfinancial account holder dies
Contact Edfinancial — 6-step process, 4 required documents, and varies. edfinancial reviews the proof of death, returns any payments received after the discharge conditions were met to the borrower's estate (34 cfr 685.212(g)(1)), and then discharges the remaining balance.
Edfinancial Borrower Services
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Military Servicemember Liaison
Schools / Financial Aid Offices (ED FSA-listed line)
WebsiteLearn more→
Edfinancial Borrower Services
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Military Servicemember Liaison
Schools / Financial Aid Offices (ED FSA-listed line)
WebsiteLearn more→
Edfinancial Borrower Services (Death Discharge)
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Document fax (direct line)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
After a Edfinancial account holder dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Edfinancial's Edfinancial Borrower Services (Death Discharge) at 1-855-337-6884 with the proper legal authority documents.
Gather the account holder's full name, date of birth, and any known account or policy numbers before contacting Edfinancial. A certified death certificate is the primary document required to start any claim.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Edfinancial requires:
Filing a claim
1
Confirm the loan is a federal student loan serviced by Edfinancial for the U.S. Department of Education. Edfinancial states that a federal student loan is discharged when the borrower, or the student on whose behalf a PLUS loan was taken out, dies — whether it is a Direct Loan, a Department-held FFEL Program loan, or a Department-held Federal Perkins Loan (https://edfinancial.studentaid.gov/complete-list-of-discharge-options). A private student loan is not covered.
2
Gather acceptable proof of death. Under 34 CFR 685.212(a) the servicer discharges the loan based on:
- An original or certified copy of the death certificate
- An accurate and complete photocopy of the original or certified copy of the death certificate
- An accurate and complete original or certified copy of the death certificate that is scanned and submitted electronically or sent by fax
- Verification of the death through an authoritative federal or state electronic database approved by the Secretary
- Under exceptional circumstances and case by case, other reliable documentation of the death acceptable to the Secretary (34 CFR 685.212(a)(2))
3
Call Edfinancial at 855-337-6884 (Monday 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m., Thursday and Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Eastern) to report the death and get the account number, then send the proof of death through one of Edfinancial's document channels (see the online, mail, and fax steps).
4
Include a short cover letter with the borrower's full name, date of birth, account number or Social Security number, date of death, and the sender's name, relationship, and callback number, so the death certificate is matched to the right loan.
5
Edfinancial confirms the date of death and discharges the remaining balance. Under 34 CFR 685.212(g)(1), payments received after the date the discharge conditions were met are returned to the borrower's estate.
6
No further payments are due, and the estate is not billed for the discharged balance. A federal student loan is not a claim against the estate after a death discharge.
Required Documents
- Proof of death — an original death certificate, a certified copy, or an accurate and complete photocopy of an original or certified copy (a scanned or faxed copy of an original or certified copy is also accepted)
- For a Parent PLUS Loan claimed on the student's death: the STUDENT's death certificate (the parent borrower does not have to die for the loan to be discharged)
- A cover letter with the borrower's name, date of birth, date of death, and account number or Social Security number so the document is matched to the correct loan
- No Edfinancial death-discharge form — the servicer does not publish a family-facing claim form; the proof of death is the claim
What to know at this institution
A federal student loan is a debt, not an asset: there is no payable-on-death or beneficiary designation, nothing to retitle into a trust, and no survivor who inherits the loan. Under 34 CFR 685.212(a) a Direct Loan is discharged on the borrower's death, and a Direct PLUS Loan (including a Parent PLUS Loan) is discharged on the death of the student on whose behalf a parent borrowed as well as on the death of the borrower. Edfinancial's own discharge page extends the same result to Department-held FFEL Program loans (34 CFR 682.402(b)) and Department-held Federal Perkins Loans (34 CFR 674.61(a)). Edfinancial publishes no death-discharge form for families — proof of death IS the claim, sent through the servicer's standard document channels: upload through the online account's Inbox/Upload, mail to P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008, or fax to 800-887-6130 (toll free) or 865-692-6348. Do not send the death certificate to the payment address. A discharge due to death is not treated as income by the Internal Revenue Service for federal tax purposes for discharges on or after January 1, 2018; the discharged amount may be treated as income for state tax purposes, and the state tax authority determines state treatment.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Edfinancial
Edfinancial accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Edfinancial's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at Edfinancial: Varies. Edfinancial reviews the proof of death, returns any payments received after the discharge conditions were met to the borrower's estate (34 CFR 685.212(g)(1)), and then discharges the remaining balance. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
To process a claim, Edfinancial needs Proof of death — an original death certificate, a certified copy, or an accurate and complete photocopy of an original or certified copy (a scanned or faxed copy of an original or certified copy is also accepted), For a Parent PLUS Loan claimed on the student's death: the STUDENT's death certificate (the parent borrower does not have to die for the loan to be discharged), A cover letter with the borrower's name, date of birth, date of death, and account number or Social Security number so the document is matched to the correct loan, and No Edfinancial death-discharge form — the servicer does not publish a family-facing claim form; the proof of death is the claim. Death certificates and court documents must be certified copies—photocopies are not accepted.
Frequently asked questions
It is discharged. Under 34 CFR 685.212(a), a federal Direct Loan is discharged once Edfinancial receives acceptable proof of death. Edfinancial's discharge page states the same result for a Department-held FFEL Program loan or Federal Perkins Loan. After the discharge there are no further payments, the estate is not billed for the remaining balance, and no survivor inherits the debt. Payments the servicer receives after the discharge conditions were met are returned to the borrower's estate (34 CFR 685.212(g)(1)).
Both. Under 34 CFR 685.212(a), a Direct PLUS Loan — including a Parent PLUS Loan — is discharged on the death of the parent borrower and also on the death of the student on whose behalf the parent borrowed. A surviving parent still repaying a Parent PLUS Loan after the student's death should send the student's death certificate to Edfinancial. If the Parent PLUS Loan was folded into a Direct Consolidation Loan, the Secretary discharges the portion of the consolidation balance attributable to that PLUS Loan as of the date of the student's death.
An original or certified copy of the death certificate, an accurate and complete photocopy of one, or an accurate and complete original or certified copy that is scanned or faxed (34 CFR 685.212(a)). Edfinancial takes documents three ways: upload through the borrower's online account at https://myaccount.edfinancial.studentaid.gov/ using the Inbox/Upload menu; mail to Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008; or fax to 800-887-6130 (toll free) or 865-692-6348. That P.O. Box is the correspondence address, not the payment address. Include the borrower's name, date of birth, date of death, and account number or Social Security number so the document reaches the right loan.
No. A federal student loan is a debt owed to the U.S. Department of Education, not an asset. It carries no payable-on-death or beneficiary designation, and there is nothing to retitle into a revocable trust. Edfinancial is a servicer — it collects payments and administers the loan for the Department, and holds no money for the borrower. When the borrower dies, the loan is discharged on acceptable proof of death rather than transferred to anyone.
The estate does not owe the discharged balance and is not billed for it. Payments received after the discharge conditions were met are returned to the borrower's estate (34 CFR 685.212(g)(1)). For discharges due to death on or after January 1, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service does not treat the discharged amount as income for federal tax purposes; if a Form 1099-C arrives, it should not be included on a federal return. The discharged amount may be treated as income for state tax purposes, which the state tax authority determines. A private student loan is outside this federal rule and is governed by the private lender's own contract terms.
Edfinancial's Edfinancial Borrower Services (Death Discharge) can be reached by phone at 1-855-337-6884 and fax at 800-887-6130 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Edfinancial student loans may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Edfinancial Borrower Services (Death Discharge) to confirm what applies.
Sources
- edfinancial.studentaid.gov
- ecfr.gov
- fsapartners.ed.gov
- govinfo.gov
- myaccount.edfinancial.studentaid.gov
- studentaid.gov
Data sourced from Edfinancial primary sources (12 pages reviewed). How we research.
Edfinancial Borrower Services
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Military Servicemember Liaison
Schools / Financial Aid Offices (ED FSA-listed line)
WebsiteLearn more→
Edfinancial Borrower Services
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Military Servicemember Liaison
Schools / Financial Aid Offices (ED FSA-listed line)
WebsiteLearn more→
Edfinancial Borrower Services (Death Discharge)
Phone1-855-337-6884
Toll-Free1-855-337-6884
Fax800-887-6130
Mailing Address
Edfinancial Services, P.O. Box 36008, Knoxville, TN 37930-6008
Document fax (direct line)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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