Estate planning at Great Plains FCU
How to protect 21 Great Plains FCU accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file death claims
Member Services (Joplin home office)
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
Member Services (Joplin home office)
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
Member Services -- there is no separate estate or death-claim department and no claims portal; member service and the branch that holds the account handle deceased-member accounts. Mail estate documents to P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803; P.O. Box 463 reaches the Supervisory Committee, not member services.
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
How your Great Plains FCU accounts transfer at death depends on how each one is set up. As a membership-based credit union, Great Plains FCU home office: 2306 S. Range Line Rd., Joplin, MO 64804 (street address per https://www.greatplainsfcu.com/about-us/contact-us), mailing P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803 (per https://www.greatplainsfcu.com/about-us/gpfcu-branch-locations). Phone (417) 626-8500, member service toll-free (800) 388-1318, fax (417) 626-8114, gpfcu@greatplainsfcu.com. Missouri branches: Joplin home office and Carthage (120 South Garrison, Carthage, MO 64836; (417) 358-8100; fax (417) 358-8128). Kansas branches: Abilene (504 N Buckeye, 67410; (785) 263-2309), Columbus (510 North East Ave, 66725; (620) 429-4688), Hillsboro (110 West D Street, P.O. Box 325, 67063; (620) 947-3933), Independence (123 E Main, 67301; (620) 331-4060, with a separate drive-thru office at 200 East Main), McPherson (720 North Main, P.O. Box 786, 67460; (620) 241-4181), Montezuma (301 North Alvarado, P.O. Box 495, 67867; (620) 846-2204 or (800) 688-3781), Salina, and Wichita. Home office lobby hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST; branch lobby hours vary (the Columbus branch closes for lunch from 1:00 to 2:00 PM). Membership is open to individuals who reside, are employed, worship, or attend school in a city or county where a branch is located, to employees of Select Employer Groups (SEGs), and to immediate family (spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or sibling, including step and adoptive relationships) of current members. Note: P.O. Box 463, Joplin, MO 64802 is published only as the address of the credit union's Supervisory Committee (supervisorycommittee@greatplainsfcu.com), a regulatory-complaint channel -- it is not the member service or death-claim mailing address. With 21 account types, the transfer rules vary—getting the right designations in place now prevents delays and court involvement later.
Managing beneficiaries at Great Plains FCU is straightforward—changes can be made in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes in branch; additional processing time by mail. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle accounts into the name of a revocable living trust.
Great Plains FCU has documented procedures for both preparing accounts during your lifetime and handling claims when an account holder passes away.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 21 account types at Great Plains FCU.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
6-step process, 8 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Great Plains FCU is not available nationwide. Estate planning procedures may vary by state, so confirm that your location is served before making account changes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, and this is the way a credit union trust account differs from a bank one. Great Plains FCU will title share draft, savings, money market, and share certificate accounts in the name of a trust, but a federal credit union can only serve people inside its field of membership, so the trust has to connect back to an eligible member. Eligibility comes from living, working, worshiping, or attending school in a city or county where a branch is located (2 in Missouri, 8 in Kansas), from a Select Employer Group, or from being immediate family of a current member -- spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, or sibling, including step and adoptive relationships. Bring the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, photo ID for all trustees, and the trust's tax ID; for a revocable living trust that is normally the grantor's own Social Security number rather than a separate EIN. When choosing a successor trustee, remember that one living far outside Kansas and Missouri may not be eligible to join, which can mean the account is closed out and moved rather than administered in place.
Sources
Data sourced from Great Plains FCU primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
Member Services (Joplin home office)
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
Member Services (Joplin home office)
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
Member Services -- there is no separate estate or death-claim department and no claims portal; member service and the branch that holds the account handle deceased-member accounts. Mail estate documents to P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803; P.O. Box 463 reaches the Supervisory Committee, not member services.
Great Plains FCU, P.O. Box 2968, Joplin, MO 64803
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Great Plains FCU accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
