What to do when a Global CU account holder dies

Global's Account Settlement Guide is explicit on both. Federal benefit direct deposits (Social Security, VA) that land after the date of death are RETURNED to the paying agency -- the U.S. Treasury requires Global to do this, so the money is not yours to keep even if it is sitting in the account. The decedent's Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend deposit is not accepted at all; a Successor or Personal Representative must claim the PFD from the state directly (907-465-2326, pfd.alaska.gov). All direct deposits after the date of death are reviewed and may be clawed back, so notify the payors yourself rather than waiting. Separately, section 12.6 (Death or Incapacity) of the Share Account Disclosure Statement lets Global keep paying checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after death unless someone with an interest in the account orders a stop payment.

Global does not accept a will to settle a deceased member's account -- the will goes to probate court, which appoints a Personal Representative, and Global releases account information only against Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. A Power of Attorney is refused too, because it terminates at the grantor's death. Global's Account Settlement Guide recognizes a third path: the SUCCESSOR, a person who settles the affairs where there is no probate by completing the small estate affidavit of the state the decedent lived in. Global will help you locate the right affidavit -- it serves Alaska, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, and California, and the affidavit and its limits differ in each. Start with Legacy Support at LegacySupport@globalcu.org or 800-525-9094 and say up front which capacity you are claiming in, because that determines the entire document list.

It depends on which mechanism you use, and this is the sharpest planning trap at a credit union. For a PAYABLE ON DEATH designation, the beneficiary can be a trust -- the form has an explicit "Entity (trust, estate, charity)" beneficiary type and accepts an EIN in place of an SSN -- and the trust does not need to qualify for membership, because POD funds are only paid out after your death. For a TRUST ACCOUNT titled in the name of the trust, NCUA rules require that all grantors/trustors OR all trust beneficiaries be eligible for Global membership. Global's field of membership covers people who live, work, worship, or attend school in Alaska, Washington, Maricopa County AZ, Kootenai County ID, or San Bernardino County CA, plus Department of Defense employees worldwide and immediate family of members. A trust whose people fall entirely outside that field can be a POD beneficiary but cannot hold the account. Call 800-525-9094 to confirm.

Global comes to you. Its Account Settlement Guide says Global attempts to contact anyone designated as a beneficiary -- on member accounts, IRAs, and HSAs -- using the contact information given at the time of designation, and then MAILS the beneficiary the forms to elect how the funds are disbursed and how tax is withheld. Do not draft your own instruction. For a traditional IRA, that form is the IRA Withdrawal Instruction (Form 80014, https://www.globalcu.org/siteassets/pdfs/00257_ira_withdrawal_instruction.pdf): a beneficiary taking a death withdrawal signs on the IRA OWNER'S signature line and the distribution is coded IRS code 4, and the form also carries the direct-transfer option to move the money to an inherited IRA held in the deceased owner's name for your benefit. If you believe you are a beneficiary and Global has not contacted you -- stale address on an old Alaska USA designation is the usual reason -- call 800-525-9094. Note that an HSA cannot pass to a trust, and a non-spouse HSA beneficiary receives a taxable distribution rather than an inherited account.