What to do when a First Community CU (OR) account holder dies
Report the death to First Community CU (OR)'s Customer Service Center at 1-855-328-2441
The Customer Service Center at First Community CU (OR) coordinates account transitions after a member's death. How each account is handled depends on its setup: POD and trust accounts transfer automatically, while solely-owned accounts typically require court authorization through Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The claim process begins with a phone call to 1-855-328-2441. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate available when making initial contact.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what First Community CU (OR) requires:
Filing a claim
- Payable-on-death accounts: identification matching the beneficiary named on the Membership Form
- Estate accounts: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Small estates: a completed Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit filed with the circuit court
- Trust as beneficiary: the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, plus trustee identification
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Copy of government-issued photo ID for each beneficiary or claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if there is no payable-on-death designation and no joint owner
- Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit, if the estate qualifies
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate, or a court orderThe agreement treats it as the satisfactory evidence that leads the credit union to act on the death.
- Government-issued photo ID, for each beneficiary or claimantFor a payable-on-death claim, the identification matches the beneficiary named on the Membership Form.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, when the account has no payable-on-death designation and no joint owner
- Oregon Simple Estate Affidavit, if the estate qualifies as a small estateCompleted and filed with the circuit court.
- Trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, and trustee identification, when a trust is named as beneficiary
- Signed indemnification, if the credit union requires one before honoring the claim
What happens to each kind of account4
- Joint account with survivorship
Unless the Membership Form says otherwise, a joint account is held with right of survivorship and transfers immediately to the surviving owners. It stays subject to the credit union's lien, right of set-off and any pledge the deceased owner granted, even without the survivor's consent.1
- Payable-on-death account
Funds are paid according to the instructions on the Membership Form, such as to a payable-on-death beneficiary.2
When the last owner dies, the balance is paid to the named payable-on-death beneficiaries who are living. Several surviving beneficiaries share equally.1
- Account in one name
Without a payable-on-death beneficiary, the deceased owner's interest passes to the estate, and the personal representative provides Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.1
- IRA
A payable-on-death designation does not apply to an IRA. The beneficiary named on the separate IRA beneficiary designation provides the certified death certificate and completes the IRA distribution paperwork.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersOregon
- Oregon
ORS 723.466
Oregon law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.ORS 723.466Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: surviving spouse
Limit: $25,000 held at the institution and $25,000 in total from every holder
When: at any time after the death
Paid to: Oregon Health Authority or Department of Human Services (no surviving spouse; preferred claim under ORS 411.708, 411.795 or 416.350)
Limit: $25,000 held at the institution and $25,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than 46 days and no more than 75 days after the death
Paid to: surviving children 18 or older; else surviving parent(s); else surviving brothers and sisters 18 or older; else any other surviving heir
Limit: $25,000 held at the institution and $25,000 in total from every holder
When: not earlier than 76 days after the death; not earlier than 46 days after the death where the institution obtains prior verbal or written authorization from both the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Human Services
Paid to: estate administrator of the State Treasurer (intestate, no known heirs)
Limit: $25,000 held at the institution and $25,000 in total from every holder
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- First Community Investment Services
Investment and annuity accounts, held by the broker-dealer LPL Financial and claimed separately1
What First Community CU (OR)'s agreement and guidance say7
- Telling the institution
Under "Death or Incompetence of Account Owner," the credit union may keep honoring transfer orders, withdrawals, deposits and other transactions until it is notified of the death and given satisfactory evidence, such as a certified death certificate or a court order.2
- Payments after the death
After notice, the credit union may still pay drafts and other payment or transfer orders the member authorized for ten days, unless a person claiming an interest in the account tells it to stop payment.2
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
The credit union may require anyone claiming the owner's account funds to indemnify it against losses from honoring that claim, and may require documentary evidence it finds satisfactory before releasing funds.2
- Wills, probate and small estates
With no beneficiary designation, no probate proceeding and no estate, the credit union may, but is not required to, pay the funds to any heir, who is then solely responsible for further distribution. It may instead hold the funds until a proper court order is presented.2
- Debts owed to the institution
Every payment at death remains subject to the credit union's lien and security interest. The lien reaches payable-on-death, revocable trust and custodial accounts as well as ordinary savings and checking, and a credit card account is cross-collateralized on the same terms.2
The lien does not reach an IRA or any other account that would lose special tax treatment if pledged, or an irrevocable trust or fiduciary account in which the member had no vested interest.2
- Fees
The fee schedule lists a stop payment fee of $30 per item and an Account Research Fee of $40 per hour, with a one-hour minimum.3
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
An account with no activity can be classified dormant, charged a one-time $15 dormant account fee, and eventually reported to the state as abandoned property.1
Not in First Community CU (OR)'s published guidance2
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
Sources3
- 1.Contact Us
- 2.Membership and Account Agreement, Revised September 2026
- 3.Truth in Savings / rate and fee schedule
Payable-on-death claims are typically processed within 2-4 weeks.
First Community CU (OR)'s Customer Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-855-328-2441 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(2)·
Data sourced from First Community CU (OR) primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
First Community CU (OR) death claims support
Customer Service Center
Phone
Lost Cards (24-hour)
First Community Investment Services (LPL-held accounts)
Hours
Mailing address
Website
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