What to do when a Greenlight account holder dies
Contact Greenlight — 6-step process, 6 required documents, and greenlight publishes no claim timeline. the card account and savings close as soon as greenlight becomes aware of the death; the invest account is liquidated by alpaca after the card account closes, so distribution follows normal settlement of the sales.
Greenlight Customer Support
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308
WebsiteLearn more→
Greenlight Customer Support
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308
WebsiteLearn more→
Cardholder Services (general support — Greenlight has no dedicated claims department)
Phone1-888-483-2645
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight, Cardholder Services, 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308 (address published in the Cardholder Agreement; app-only, so there is no branch, claims portal, or claim form)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
After a Greenlight account holder 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 Greenlight's Cardholder Services (general support — Greenlight has no dedicated claims department) at 1-888-483-2645 with the proper legal authority documents.
Claims can be filed by phone (1-888-483-2645) or by emailing documentation to support@greenlight.com. Before reaching out, gather the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Greenlight works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Work out whose death it is first — Greenlight treats the two cases completely differently. If a child (Secondary Cardholder) or a Supported Adult Cardholder dies, that account is closed and the funds are transferred to the surviving Primary Accountholder; nothing goes through the deceased cardholder's estate. If the PRIMARY ACCOUNTHOLDER dies, the entire family group closes
2
Notify Greenlight support at 888-483-2645 (24/7) or support@greenlight.com. There is no branch, no claims department, and no claims portal; general support handles estate notifications
3
Send the documents support asks for, addressed to Cardholder Services:
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration naming you as executor or administrator (Greenlight will release funds "to a verified law office after receipt of proper legal documentation," so a law firm handling the estate can be the payee of record)
- Government-issued photo ID for the executor or authorized representative
- A letter of instruction identifying the Greenlight account (the Primary Accountholder's name, email, and phone on the account) and where the funds should be sent
- Mail: Greenlight, Cardholder Services, 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308
4
Card Account and Savings (held by Community Federal Savings Bank):
- Per the Cardholder Agreement (https://greenlight.com/cardholder), the Primary Account and every associated Secondary and Supported Adult Account are closed once Greenlight becomes aware of the Primary Accountholder's death
- Unused balances across the whole family group are returned one of three ways, at Greenlight's discretion: refunded to the Funding Account on file, paid by paper check to the Primary Accountholder at the mailing address on record, or paid to a verified law office after receipt of proper legal documentation
- If the Funding Account is the decedent's own frozen checking account, tell support so and ask for the check or law-office route instead
- Greenlight reserves the right to refuse to return any unused balance under $1.00 and to keep it as a one-time fee
5
Invest Account (held by Alpaca Securities, LLC):
- Closing the Card Account also closes every Invest Account, including each child's "Investing for Kids" portfolio — those portfolios belong to the deceased parent, not the child
- Alpaca sells the positions; the proceeds, less applicable expenses and unpaid fees, are distributed to the Primary Accountholder or their estate. There is no in-kind transfer of the securities to an heir, and no step-in by a successor: the Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service make the account non-assignable "by operation of law or otherwise"
- An Invest Account with a balance under $1.00 may be charged a wind-down fee of up to $1.00, which absorbs the balance
- Invest Account assets are not FDIC-insured; Alpaca is a SIPC member
6
Because the balances are usually small, ask support in writing whether the state's small-estate affidavit will be accepted in place of Letters — many estates never open probate, and Greenlight's own agreement contemplates release on "proper legal documentation" rather than naming a specific court paper
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (or, if support accepts it, the state small-estate affidavit)
- Government-issued photo ID for the executor or authorized representative
- Letter of instruction identifying the Primary Accountholder's Greenlight account (name, account email, phone) and the payment destination
- Proper legal documentation of representation if the funds are to be released to a law office
- For a Supported Adult Cardholder matter: an official document verifying a legal, contractual, or court-ordered right to act on that person's behalf
What to know at this institution
Greenlight has no estate unit and no death-claim form: notification is by phone (888-483-2645, 24/7) or email (support@greenlight.com), and the mailing address is Cardholder Services, 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308. The Cardholder Agreement in force is dated April 1, 2026. Two Greenlight-specific traps for an executor: (1) the default payout route is a refund to the Funding Account on file, which is often the decedent's own bank account and may already be frozen — ask for the check or verified-law-office route instead; and (2) a child's investing portfolio is an asset of the deceased parent's estate, not the child's, so it is liquidated and paid to the estate. Greenlight may also keep any residual balance under $1.00 (Card Account) and charge a wind-down fee of up to $1.00 on an Invest Account below $1.00. Separately, the agreement lets Greenlight close a Card Account that has held a $0.00 balance and been inactive for three or more months, so a dormant family account may already be closed by the time an executor calls.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Greenlight
Greenlight accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Greenlight's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at Greenlight: Greenlight publishes no claim timeline. The Card Account and Savings close as soon as Greenlight becomes aware of the death; the Invest Account is liquidated by Alpaca after the Card Account closes, so distribution follows normal settlement of the sales. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Greenlight requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (or, if support accepts it, the state small-estate affidavit), and Government-issued photo ID for the executor or authorized representative, 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
Everything closes at once. Per the Cardholder Agreement (https://greenlight.com/cardholder), when Greenlight becomes aware of the Primary Accountholder's death, the Primary Account and every associated Secondary Account and Supported Adult Account are closed, and the unused balances across the whole group are returned either by refund to the Funding Account on file, by paper check to the Primary Accountholder at the mailing address on record, or to a verified law office after receipt of proper legal documentation. Closing the Card Account also closes each Invest Account: Alpaca sells the positions and the proceeds, less applicable expenses and unpaid fees, go to the Primary Accountholder or their estate. There is no beneficiary designation on any of it, so the money reaches heirs through the estate. Two practical points for the executor: the default refund route is the Funding Account, which is often the decedent's own now-frozen bank account, so ask support for the check or law-office route; and each child's portfolio is estate property, not the child's.
No, on all counts. Greenlight publishes no beneficiary, payable-on-death, or transfer-on-death designation for the Card Account and Savings (prepaid-card records held by Community Federal Savings Bank) or for the Invest Account (held at Alpaca Securities, LLC and opened through the Greenlight app, not directly with Alpaca). Greenlight also does not open trust-titled accounts or retitle an existing account into a trust, and the Greenlight Advisors Terms of Service make the account non-assignable "by operation of law or otherwise," so no successor trustee can step in. The only way a revocable trust touches Greenlight money is indirectly: title the outside Funding Account that loads the card to the trust, and keep the Greenlight balance to spending money.
No. Per the Cardholder Agreement, if a Supported Adult Cardholder (or a Secondary Cardholder) dies, that account is closed and the funds in it are transferred to the Primary Accountholder — the person who manages the family plan. The balance never passes through the deceased cardholder's estate, because the Supported Adult is a cardholder on your account, not an owner of it. That is exactly why Greenlight is not a place to hold an older relative's savings: if their money is on the card, it lands with you rather than with the people named in their will. Keep their assets in accounts titled in their own name, and use the Supported Adult card only for spending. Greenlight also requires anyone acting on a Supported Adult Cardholder's behalf to provide an official document showing a legal, contractual, or court-ordered right to act — such as a financial power of attorney or a guardianship order.
Call Greenlight support at 888-483-2645 (available 24/7) or email support@greenlight.com — Greenlight is app-only, and general support handles estate notifications; there is no claims department, claims portal, or death-claim form. Identify the account by the Primary Accountholder's name plus the email and phone number on the account, and say whether the person who died was the Primary Accountholder or a cardholder on the account, because the two outcomes differ. Send what support asks for — typically a certified death certificate, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, and your photo ID — to Greenlight, Cardholder Services, 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308, with a letter of instruction stating where the funds should go. Because Greenlight's agreement calls for "proper legal documentation" rather than a specific court paper, ask in writing whether your state's small-estate affidavit will be accepted in place of Letters; these balances are often too small to justify opening probate.
Greenlight's Cardholder Services (general support — Greenlight has no dedicated claims department) can be reached by phone at 1-888-483-2645 and email at support@greenlight.com for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Greenlight investment accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Cardholder Services (general support — Greenlight has no dedicated claims department) to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from Greenlight primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Greenlight Customer Support
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308
WebsiteLearn more→
Greenlight Customer Support
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight Financial Technology, Inc., 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308
WebsiteLearn more→
Cardholder Services (general support — Greenlight has no dedicated claims department)
Phone1-888-483-2645
Toll-Free1-888-483-2645
Mailing Address
Greenlight, Cardholder Services, 303 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 4300, Atlanta, GA 30308 (address published in the Cardholder Agreement; app-only, so there is no branch, claims portal, or claim form)
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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