What to do when a FourLeaf FCU account holder dies
Report the death to FourLeaf FCU's Operations - Decedent Claims at 1-844-306-0529
When a member of FourLeaf FCU passes away, the Operations - Decedent Claims handles the transition of accounts to beneficiaries or the estate. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate, while solely-owned accounts may require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with FourLeaf FCU:
Filing a claim
- Open a new account, with completed opening documents
- Withdraw the funds and receive an Official Check
- Transfer the funds to an existing FourLeaf account
- The signer certifies their own Social Security number under penalty of perjury
- Certified death certificate with the raised seal, which is returned to the claimant afterward
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration dated within 6 months
- Where no representative has been appointed, the notarized AS-62 affidavit instead
- The completed Deceased Withdrawal / Transfer Slip
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate with the raised sealPhotocopies are not accepted. FourLeaf returns the certified copy.
- Valid photo identification for the claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for an account with no beneficiaryBearing the seal of the Surrogate's Court or a similar court; the original or a certified copy dated within the past 6 months.
- Affidavit in Support of Repayment of Deposits of Deceased Person (AS-62), notarized, for a small New York account where no executor or administrator has been appointed
- Deceased Withdrawal / Transfer SlipElects how the funds are paid out.
- Trust documents, and the estate EIN where applicable, for a trust account
- Proof of name change, where applicable
Forms FourLeaf FCU issues3
- Affidavit in Support of Repayment of Deposits of Deceased Person (Form AS-62)
Completed by the affiant, where no representative has been appointed. Available to download. Must be notarized.1
- Deceased Withdrawal / Transfer Slip
Completed by the recipient of the funds. Available to download.2
- Fiduciary Account Signature Card
Completed by the estate representative opening the estate account. Provided at a branch.3
What happens to each kind of account7
- Payable-on-death account
The beneficiary claims with photo identification and the death certificate. A single-owner account with designated beneficiaries is closed and the remaining funds are paid to the beneficiaries once any outstanding loans have been satisfied.3
- Account in one name
With no beneficiary, the balance is paid to the estate once any outstanding loans have been satisfied, against Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.3
- Joint account with survivorship
A jointly owned deposit account stays open and usable by the surviving owner until FourLeaf has all the documentation. It is then closed or retitled in the survivor's name.3
On a jointly owned account, automated transfers continue to process, but direct deposits arriving in the deceased member's name are rejected.3
- Certificate of deposit
A surviving joint owner of a certificate may move the funds "as is" into a new certificate that keeps the original dividend rate and maturity date, or cash it in without penalty.3
- IRA
FourLeaf moves the balance into an Inherited IRA under the beneficiary's name and tax identification number, then sends the beneficiary documentation of their distribution options.3
- Credit card
On a card with a sole borrower, the account is frozen and interest stops as of the date FourLeaf receives the death certificate. Statements keep going to the address on file, and the estate arranges to pay the balance in full.3
A surviving co-borrower may keep the card open and have it retitled. Authorized users may not continue to use it.3
- Loan
Surviving borrowers or the estate remain responsible for the balance. FourLeaf checks whether the member carried voluntary payment protection and applies any proceeds to the loan as of the date of death.3
State law on paying a balance without lettersNew York
- New York
N.Y. SCPA § 1310
New York law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit made under oath, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.N.Y. SCPA § 1310Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: surviving spouse
Limit: $30,000 in total from every holder
When: forthwith
Paid to: surviving spouse, children eighteen or older, either parent, brother or sister, niece or nephew, or at their request a creditor or the person who paid the funeral expense
Limit: $15,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than thirty days after the death
Paid to: a distributee, a creditor, or the person who paid the funeral expenses
Limit: $5,000 held at the institution and $5,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than 6 months after the death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- FourLeaf Business Services
A deceased member's business accounts3
Phone: 1-516-349-6902
- FourLeaf Commercial Real Estate Loans
Commercial real estate loans3
Phone: 1-516-349-4289
What FourLeaf FCU's agreement and guidance say8
- Telling the institution
FourLeaf often receives notice from the U.S. Government that a member has died, and reserves the right to begin its process on that notice.3
FourLeaf may continue to honor checks, items and instructions until it both knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act.4
- Payments after the death
FourLeaf may pay checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment.4
- What it does when notified
Once FourLeaf has notice of the death, Bill Pay payments are discontinued automatically, and on individual accounts automated transfers in or out are rejected. FourLeaf asks the family to tell the companies debiting the account that the member has died.3
Debit cards on the account should be deactivated to prevent unauthorized use.3
- Powers of attorney
Any power of attorney held on the account is voided on the death of the principal.3
A power of attorney continues until death. FourLeaf may keep honoring an agent's transactions until it has written notice or actual knowledge of the death and a reasonable opportunity to act on it.4
- Debts owed to the institution
Personal account balances may be applied to an outstanding FourLeaf loan.3
Where an account was pledged as security for a debt, the pledge must be satisfied before the rights of any surviving owner or beneficiary take effect.4
- Deposits after the death
FourLeaf says Social Security, Department of Veterans Affairs and Railroad Retirement payments received in the deceased member's name after death must be returned to the U.S. Treasury. Anything returned must be settled directly with the paying agency.3
- Indemnity a claimant may have to give
A person who signs the AS-62 affidavit agrees to reimburse FourLeaf for any cost, expense or attorney's fees it incurs defending a claim arising from the payment.1
- What it says about taxes
FourLeaf says it must keep reporting to the IRS under the deceased member's Social Security number until the account is closed, and asks families to settle promptly.3
Not in FourLeaf FCU's published guidance1
- How long a claim takes
FourLeaf FCU's Operations - Decedent Claims can be reached by phone at 1-844-306-0529 and email at EstateServices@fourleaffcu.com for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from FourLeaf FCU primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
FourLeaf FCU death claims support
Operations - Decedent Claims
Phone
Toll-free
Mailing address
Website
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