What to do when a Fifth Third Bank account holder dies

Completed by the beneficiary. Available to download.¹

An account with more than one owner is held with right of survivorship: at an owner's death the balance belongs to the survivor, subject to set off and any pledge or security agreements.²

On notice of a joint owner's death, Fifth Third may restrict or prohibit further withdrawals until it is satisfied that its obligations under applicable law and the Deposit Account Rules have been met.²

The balance of a payable-on-death or "In Trust For" account at the owner's death belongs to the beneficiary, if the beneficiary survives the owner. Fifth Third reserves the right to require satisfactory proof of the death and of the beneficiary's survival.²

When a trustee of a trust account dies or resigns, the successor trustee appointed by the trust or by court order becomes the trustee.²

For an estate, trust, guardianship or conservator account, Fifth Third may require any documents it reasonably requests to show the fiduciary's authority, and need not permit changes or withdrawals until it receives them.²

A surviving spouse can keep the funds in an HSA: Fifth Third opens a new HSA in the spouse's name once its HSA Enrollment Form is signed, then transfers the funds. A spouse can instead ask for payout and closing of the account.¹

With no designated beneficiary, or if every beneficiary died first, the estate is the beneficiary. On learning of the death, Fifth Third may make a final distribution to a beneficiary other than a spouse without the beneficiary's consent.³

Personal loans whose owner has died⁴

Questions about the HSA Death Distribution Request Form¹

IRAs and retirement accounts held through Fifth Third Securities⁵

Fifth Third Private Bank can serve as executor, trustee, or agent for the executor or trustee. It says estate settlement "can take between 18 months to three years to complete".⁶

1-866-488-0017

Account owners agree to notify Fifth Third immediately if any owner or signer on the account dies.²

When Fifth Third receives notice of a death it may freeze the account and refuse to permit withdrawals or accept deposits. It need not release the funds until it receives the documentation it reasonably requests to verify the death and determine who is entitled to them.²

Fifth Third may accept and comply with court orders and take direction from court-appointed representatives, guardians or conservators from states other than the state where the account is located.²

Fifth Third may charge a debt owed to it or an affiliate to any deposit account in the customer's name or a joint owner's name, and may set off against any funds in the customer's account to pay it.²

A checking account is treated as dormant after 12 months of inactivity and a savings account after 36 months. Abandoned accounts are subject to escheatment to the State Treasury of the customer's last address of record as unclaimed property.²

HSA death distribution checks are issued and mailed to the address on the form. Mutual funds in the HSA are liquidated and distributed as cash.¹