What to do when a Frost account holder dies
Contact Frost's Trust & Estate Planning — 6-step process, 6 required documents, and p.o.d. beneficiaries may access funds after presenting death certificate and id. estate accounts may take longer depending on probate requirements.
Trust & Estate Planning
Death Claims
Frost Bank, P.O. Box 34746, San Antonio, TX 78265
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's Death Claims at 1-800-513-7678 with the proper legal authority documents.
Before contacting Frost, have the account holder's full name, date of birth, and any available account numbers ready. A certified death certificate is required to initiate the claim.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Frost:
Filing a claim
- P.O.D. accounts: beneficiaries provide government-issued ID to claim funds directly
- Accounts without P.O.D.: funds pass as part of the estate under the will or by intestacy
- Trust-owned accounts: successor trustee provides trust documentation and government-issued ID
- IRA accounts: designated beneficiaries complete distribution paperwork through the investment services division
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued ID for beneficiary, heir, or successor trustee
- Trust documents (if trust-owned account)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if probate is required)
- Court order (if applicable)
- IRA beneficiary distribution forms (for retirement accounts)
What to know at this institution
Frost's Deposit Account Agreement (effective July 1, 2025) governs what happens to a decedent's deposit accounts. It provides: "We may act as if all signers or owners of an Account are alive and competent until we receive notice otherwise. After we receive a notice of death or incompetence of the sole signer on an Account, we may freeze amounts in, refuse to accept transactions to, and/or reverse or return deposits to, such Account." Frost "[is] also 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." The agreement also obligates account owners to notify Frost immediately when an owner or signer dies. Frost offers executor and estate-administration services as part of its fiduciary services; contact the Trust & Estate Planning division at 1-888-268-9202 for estates requiring trust or fiduciary services.
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. When a borrower dies, the loan obligation transfers with the property to whoever inherits it. Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Act, the lender cannot accelerate the loan or call it due when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, or the borrower’s revocable trust.
- Full legal name
- Social Security number
- Loan number
- Continue making payments
- Apply for loss mitigation
- Assume the loan
- Refinance
- Pay off the balance
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir or personal representative
- Documentation proving ownership interest in the property (probated will, court order, recorded deed, or trust document)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if going through probate)
- Marriage certificate (if surviving spouse)
- Trust document showing successor trustee or beneficiary (if applicable)
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-513-7678
Frost Bank, P.O. Box 1600, San Antonio, TX 78296-1600
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), Frost Bank cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, relative upon death, or the borrower's revocable living trust. Confirmed Successors in Interest are treated as borrowers under CFPB mortgage servicing rules and are entitled to account information and loss mitigation options. Frost services all mortgages in-house from Texas.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Frost
Frost accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Frost's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionOpening an account for the estate itself
Checks made out to the estate deposit into an account titled to the estate, opened by the appointed executor or administrator under the estate's EIN.
How to open an estate account at Frost →Expected timelines at Frost: P.O.D. beneficiaries may access funds after presenting death certificate and ID. Estate accounts may take longer depending on probate requirements. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Frost requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate, Government-issued ID for beneficiary, heir, or successor trustee, and Trust documents (if trust-owned account), and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Visit a Frost financial center or call 1-800-513-7678 to request a P.O.D. (Payable on Death) beneficiary designation. You will complete the Uniform Single-Party or Multiple-Party Account Selection Form. P.O.D. accounts pass directly to beneficiaries and are not part of the estate. Trusts can be named as P.O.D. beneficiaries.
Upon the borrower's death, heirs or personal representatives should notify Frost at 1-800-513-7678 and submit a certified death certificate. Under the Garn-St. Germain Act, Frost cannot enforce the due-on-sale clause when property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, relative, or the borrower's revocable living trust. Confirmed Successors in Interest can continue payments, apply for loss mitigation, assume the loan, refinance, or pay off the balance.
Frost's Death Claims can be reached by phone at 1-800-513-7678 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Frost accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Death Claims to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from Frost primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Trust & Estate Planning
Death Claims
Frost Bank, P.O. Box 34746, San Antonio, TX 78265
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