What to do when a Frost account holder dies
Report the death to Frost Customer Service - death notification at 1-800-513-7678
After an account holder at Frost 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 Frost Customer Service - death notification at 1-800-513-7678 with the proper legal authority documents.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Frost:
Filing a claim
- P.O.D. account: identification matching the beneficiary named on the Texas Uniform Single- or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form
- Estate account: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Trust account: the trust document or certificate of trust and successor-trustee identification
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued ID for the claimant, whether the P.O.D. beneficiary, an heir, the executor or administrator, or the successor trusteeFor a P.O.D. account, identification matching the beneficiary named on the Texas Uniform Single- or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form.
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where the account passes through the estate
- Trust document or certificate of trust, for a trust-titled accountThe successor trustee presents it with identification.
- Court order, where a court has appointed a guardian or conservator or created a court-appointed trust
- Beneficiary distribution paperwork from Frost's investment services, for an IRA, brokerage or managed account
What happens to each kind of account8
- Payable-on-death account
On a single-party account with a P.O.D. designation, ownership passes to the named P.O.D. beneficiaries and the account is not part of the estate. On a Totten trust account, ownership passes to the beneficiary on the death of the last surviving trustee, and the account does not pass under the will.1
On a multiple-party account with right of survivorship and a P.O.D. designation, ownership passes to the P.O.D. beneficiaries on the death of the last surviving party.1
- Account in one name
A single-party account without a P.O.D. designation passes as part of the estate, under the will or by intestacy.1
- Convenience account
A convenience account or an agency account passes as part of the estate, under the will or by intestacy.1
- Joint account with survivorship
On a multiple-party account with right of survivorship, or a community property account with right of survivorship, ownership passes to the surviving party or spouse.1
- Joint account without survivorship
On a multiple-party account without right of survivorship, the deceased person's share passes through the estate.1
- Fiduciary account
For estate, guardianship and conservatorship accounts, formal trust accounts, Texas UTMA accounts and agency accounts, Frost may require whatever documents and authorizations it deems necessary, at opening and at all times afterward.1
- IRA
The named beneficiary of an IRA claims through Frost's investment services, not the deposit counter.2
- Investment account
The named beneficiary of a brokerage or managed account claims through Frost's investment services, not the deposit counter.2
State law on paying a balance without lettersTexas
- Texas
Tex. Est. Code § 152.051
Texas law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an order of the court, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Tex. Est. Code § 152.051Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: a funeral home or the applicant, for funeral and burial expenses
Limit: $5,000 in total from every holder
When: the application may be filed "not earlier than the third day after the date of the decedent's death and not later than nine months after the date of the decedent's death"
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Frost wealth advisors
IRA, brokerage and managed accounts; fiduciary services as guardian, custodian, executor or agent for the executor2
Phone: 1-888-268-9202
What Frost's agreement and guidance say5
- Telling the institution
Account owners must notify Frost immediately when an owner or signer on an account dies. Frost "may act as if all signers or owners of an Account are alive and competent until we receive notice otherwise".1
- What it does when notified
After it receives notice of the death of the sole signer on an account, Frost "may freeze amounts in, refuse to accept transactions to, and/or reverse or return deposits to, such Account."1
Frost is "not required to release amounts in such Account until we receive documents that, in our reasonable judgment, verify the death or incompetence of the signer of such Account and establish a new person's authority to act on behalf of the owner of the Account".1
- Debts owed to the institution
Frost may set off debts against deposit accounts, but not for a liability arising from a home equity loan secured by Texas homestead property.1
Frost's setoff right does not reach an IRA, a Keogh plan, certain trust accounts other than Totten trusts, or a health savings account.1
- Deposits after the death
If an amount deposited must be returned to the government for any reason, Frost is authorized to deduct that amount from the account.1
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
An account with no activity for an extended period is presumed abandoned and the funds are remitted as unclaimed property to the Texas State Comptroller, after which Frost has no further liability for them.1
Not in Frost's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- A mailing address for claim documents
- How long a claim takes
Sources2
- 1.Deposit Account Agreement, effective July 1, 2025
- 2.Support and contact
Mortgage and home lending
Mortgages and home equity loans are liabilities, not assets. They do not have beneficiaries and cannot be retitled to a trust.
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir, executor, administrator or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where the estate is probated
- Recorded deed, trust document or court order showing the ownership interest in the home, where the home passed outside probate
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-513-7678
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Mailing address: Frost Bank ATTN: Mortgage Servicing, P.O. Box 1600, San Antonio, TX 78296
Federal law on calling a home loan after a death
These exemptions apply to a loan secured by residential real property containing less than five dwelling units.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d); 12 CFR 191.5(b), 141.14Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(3); 12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(iii)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(5)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner of the property.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(6)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
A federal regulation sets further conditions on these transfers.12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(v)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Not in Frost's published guidance2
- How long a claim takes
- Successor-in-interest page
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir, executor, administrator or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where the estate is probated
- Recorded deed, trust document or court order showing the ownership interest in the home
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-513-7678
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
What Frost's agreement and guidance say1
- Debts owed to the institution
Frost's Deposit Account Agreement says Frost may not set off against the deceased person's Frost deposit accounts for a home equity liability on Texas homestead property.1
Sources1
- 1.Deposit Account Agreement, effective July 1, 2025
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir, executor, administrator or successor trustee
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where the estate is probated
- Recorded deed, trust document or court order showing the ownership interest in the home
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-513-7678
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Not in Frost's published guidance1
- Terms in its agreements for a customer's death
Frost Customer Service - death notification can be reached by phone at 1-800-513-7678 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Frost primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Frost death claims support
Frost Customer Service - death notification
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