What to do when a EverBank account holder dies
Contact EverBank's Personal Banking Client Support — 8-step process, 6 required documents, and varies based on account type, beneficiary status, and documentation. pod and ira beneficiary claims are generally faster than estate (probate) claims, which depend on court and state-law timelines.
Brand change
Operated as TIAA Bank (TIAA, FSB) from 2018 to 2023. TIAA completed the sale of the bank to an investor group led by Stone Point Capital and Warburg Pincus on July 31, 2023; the bank reverted to the EverBank name and now operates under a national bank charter as EverBank, N.A. This is the current active record. Effective August 2023.
The procedures below reflect EverBank's accounts. Account servicing may transfer as the change takes effect.
Personal Banking Client Support
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
Personal Banking Client Support
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
Personal Banking Client Support (no separate estate line is published; this line takes death notifications for EverBank and legacy TIAA Bank accounts)
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
What happens to EverBank accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with EverBank's Personal Banking Client Support (no separate estate line is published; this line takes death notifications for EverBank and legacy TIAA Bank accounts) (1-888-882-3837) to claim the funds.
EverBank provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone or by mailing the required documents.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what EverBank requires:
Filing a claim
- POD account: on death, the asset passes to the named POD beneficiaries and is not part of the estate
- Joint account with right of survivorship: passes to the surviving owner(s), then to POD beneficiaries on the last owner's death
- Individual account with no POD beneficiary: passes through the estate
- IRA: passes to the named IRA beneficiaries
- You agree to notify EverBank IMMEDIATELY of an account holder's death and to provide evidence of it
- EverBank may place a hold on the account and prevent withdrawals upon an owner's death until all required release-of-funds procedures are completed
- EverBank may continue to pay checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to 10 days after death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop-payment
- It may keep honoring checks and instructions until it both knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge
- If a deposit -- salary, pension, Social Security, SSI, or any other government benefit payment -- is credited after the date of death, EverBank may debit the account for the full or partial amount and return it to the payer
- Maturity instructions standing on a CD may become ineffective if EverBank receives written notice of the death before the CD matures
- Generally, the penalty MAY be waived at EverBank's discretion on the death or legal incompetence of any account holder (Deposit Account Agreement 4.1.5.4)
- For Rhode Island residents, the penalty WILL be waived on the death or legal incompetence of all account holders -- the only state the agreement singles out
- The same rule is repeated for CDARS CDs and for World Markets foreign-currency CDs
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant
- Proof of POD/beneficiary status, or Letters Testamentary / Letters of Administration / small-estate affidavit (if claiming on behalf of the estate)
- For a trust-titled account: the trust agreement or a trustee certificate, plus the Manage Trustees form to record the successor trustee
- For an estate account opened by court order: the court order, which may also be required before EverBank will disburse funds from that account (Deposit Account Agreement 3.1.10.5)
- Completed claim or distribution forms provided by EverBank
What to know at this institution
Report a death by calling 1-888-882-3837. TIAA Bank accounts are EverBank accounts -- the bank reverted to the EverBank name on August 1, 2023, so a claim on an account opened as TIAA Bank comes here, to the same phone line and the same Jacksonville address. Documents can be submitted securely through the Document Center in online banking (Document Upload tab, accept the Terms and Conditions) or mailed to EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Under EverBank's Deposit Account Agreement (Section 3.1.36, Death Or Adjudication Of Incompetence), EverBank may hold the account until release-of-funds procedures are complete, may pay checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to 10 days after death unless a person with an interest orders a stop-payment, and may debit and return salary, pension, Social Security, SSI, or other government benefit payments credited after the date of death. CD early-withdrawal penalties are NOT automatically waived on death: they may be waived at EverBank's discretion, and are only guaranteed to be waived for Rhode Island residents on the death or legal incompetence of all account holders. POD accounts pay out under Section 3.1.10.7: after all account creators die, surviving named beneficiaries take in equal shares with no right of survivorship, outside the estate. Under the adverse-claim clause, EverBank may refuse to disburse to anyone -- a POD beneficiary included -- while a dispute exists, until all claimants consent in writing, a court directs payment, the conflicting claim is withdrawn in writing, or EverBank is satisfied the dispute is resolved. Fiduciary and estate accounts (Section 3.1.10.5) require documentation acceptable to EverBank -- a full trust agreement or trustee certificate, or Letters Testamentary/Administration for an estate; for an account established by court order, a court order may be required before funds can be disbursed. GOVERNING LAW MATTERS HERE: deposits opened online are considered made and held in FLORIDA (deposits opened in a financial center are held in that center's state), regardless of where the customer is domiciled, and the agreement states explicitly that "the laws of your state of domicile during your lifetime or at the time of your death are not applicable" to the account unless the agreement provides otherwise. Florida small-estate procedures (Fla. Stat. ch. 735) can therefore apply to an estate claim even when the decedent lived elsewhere. Diversified Investing / World Markets (precious metals and foreign currency) accounts are serviced separately at 1-800-926-4922.
Prepare your letter of instruction to EverBank
EverBank accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to EverBank's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at EverBank: Varies based on account type, beneficiary status, and documentation. POD and IRA beneficiary claims are generally faster than estate (probate) claims, which depend on court and state-law timelines. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by EverBank includes Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant, and Proof of POD/beneficiary status, or Letters Testamentary / Letters of Administration / small-estate affidavit (if claiming on behalf of the estate), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Here. TIAA Bank is EverBank. EverBank was acquired by TIAA and renamed TIAA Bank in 2018; TIAA then sold the bank to an investor group led by Stone Point Capital and Warburg Pincus on July 31, 2023, and it reverted to the EverBank name on August 1, 2023, now operating under a national bank charter as EverBank, N.A. Legacy TIAA Bank deposit accounts, CDs, and IRAs became EverBank accounts -- nothing moved to TIAA itself. Report the death to EverBank Personal Banking at 1-888-882-3837 and send documents to the same place as any other EverBank claim: the Document Center in online banking, or EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Statements and paperwork may still carry the old name; the account number is unchanged.
No. EverBank's online beneficiary tool (Self Service, then Account Services, then the Beneficiaries tab) and the Manage Account Beneficiaries form are for naming individuals only -- name, Social Security number, and date of birth. EverBank states that naming a trust or other organization cannot be completed through the digital form; you must call 1-888-882-3837. Two other EverBank-specific rules to know: on a joint account, a POD designation made by one owner is valid even without the other owner's consent or knowledge; and under Deposit Account Agreement Section 3.1.10.7, once all account creators have died the surviving named beneficiaries take in EQUAL shares with no right of survivorship, outside the estate -- so unequal splits are not available through a POD designation.
IRA beneficiaries are governed by the IRA agreement, not by a Payable-on-Death deposit designation, so EverBank handles them on a separate form: the Manage IRA Beneficiaries form (https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt12844f397ad182a6/blt16d0431cc6f9a51d/66b13d12ce5dd41d478a5691/ira-beneficiary.pdf), or by phone at 1-888-882-3837. The online beneficiary tool and the deposit form cannot be used for IRAs or World Markets accounts. On that IRA form, three defaults matter for planning: if you name no beneficiary, your ESTATE becomes the beneficiary; a beneficiary who dies before you drops out and the survivors' shares grow pro rata, so nothing passes to that beneficiary's children by default; and if you live in a community or marital property state and name someone other than your spouse, your spouse should sign the Part 4 Spousal Consent, which must be witnessed. An IRA cannot be retitled into a trust, but a trust can be named as its beneficiary using the trust's tax ID.
EverBank is a direct bank, so the process runs by phone and upload. Report the death promptly by calling Personal Banking at 1-888-882-3837 (Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, Saturday 9 a.m.-7 p.m. ET; internationally 1-631-234-8815 ext 3501). Speed matters: under Deposit Account Agreement Section 3.1.36, EverBank may keep paying checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to 10 days after death unless someone with an interest in the account orders a stop-payment, and it may debit and return Social Security, SSI, pension, or salary payments credited after the date of death. Submit the certified death certificate and supporting documents through online banking: Document Center, Document Upload tab, accept the Terms and Conditions, upload. You can also mail them to EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231. Two EverBank specifics: a CD's early-withdrawal penalty is waived on death only at EverBank's discretion (Rhode Island residents are the exception, where the agreement requires a waiver), and because online-opened deposits are legally made and held in FLORIDA regardless of where the decedent lived, Florida procedures -- including its small-estate rules -- can govern an estate claim on the account.
EverBank's Personal Banking Client Support (no separate estate line is published; this line takes death notifications for EverBank and legacy TIAA Bank accounts) can be reached by phone at 1-888-882-3837 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple EverBank accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Personal Banking Client Support (no separate estate line is published; this line takes death notifications for EverBank and legacy TIAA Bank accounts) can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from EverBank primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Personal Banking Client Support
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
Personal Banking Client Support
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
Personal Banking Client Support (no separate estate line is published; this line takes death notifications for EverBank and legacy TIAA Bank accounts)
EverBank, PO Box 44060, Jacksonville, FL 32231
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