Estate planning at Hancock Whitney
How to protect 15 Hancock Whitney accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Hancock Whitney's Trust & Asset Management
P.O. Box 4019, Gulfport, MS 39502
Client Services (estate and deceased-account claims)
Hancock Whitney Bank, P.O. Box 4019, Gulfport, MS 39502
How your Hancock Whitney accounts transfer at death depends on how each one is titled and whether a beneficiary is on file. Of those, 13 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Getting these details right keeps assets out of probate and ensures they reach the intended recipients.
Managing beneficiaries at Hancock Whitney is straightforward—changes can be made in branch, by mail, and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes in branch. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle accounts into the name of a revocable living trust.
Hancock Whitney 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 15 account types at Hancock Whitney.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Hancock Whitney's Trust & Asset Management to file a claim. 7-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Hancock Whitney's Trust & Asset Management can answer questions about beneficiaries, trusts, or death claims at 1-800-651-9227.
Hancock Whitney operates in select states, so estate planning procedures may vary by location. Confirm availability in your state before initiating trust funding or account changes.
Frequently asked questions
No. The Setoff clause of the Hancock Whitney Deposit Agreement states that the rights of a POD beneficiary do not attach before, and therefore do not take priority over, the bank's right of setoff or the consensual security interest the account owner grants in the agreement -- referred to as a statutory security interest in Louisiana. If the decedent owed Hancock Whitney money on a note, a card, or an overdrawn account, the bank can apply the deposit balance to that debt before the POD beneficiary is paid. The agreement carves out IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement accounts from setoff, so a Traditional or Roth IRA at the bank is not exposed this way. Before assuming a POD account will pass intact, ask what the decedent owed the bank.
Yes. Hancock Whitney Trust & Asset Management (1-800-651-9227) is an in-house fiduciary division, not a referral to an outside firm, and it can serve as professional corporate trustee, successor trustee, or executor, and can administer an estate or trust settlement. Its asset management arm also handles the assets Gulf South estates actually contain and that many corporate trustees will not touch -- commercial, residential, timber, agricultural, and industrial real property, and oil, gas, and other mineral interests. For Private Banking and Wealth Management clients, the assigned private banker coordinates with Trust & Asset Management to consolidate deposit, investment, and trust accounts under one estate file. For deposit-only customers, a financial center refers the executor or successor trustee to Trust & Asset Management if professional fiduciary services are wanted. Naming the bank as trustee in your documents is a decision to make while you are alive; call 1-800-651-9227 before naming it.
Sources
Data sourced from Hancock Whitney primary sources (19 pages reviewed). How we research.
P.O. Box 4019, Gulfport, MS 39502
Client Services (estate and deceased-account claims)
Hancock Whitney Bank, P.O. Box 4019, Gulfport, MS 39502
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Hancock Whitney accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
