What to do when a Hanmi account holder dies
Contact Hanmi — 7-step process, 6 required documents, and pod and joint accounts typically process within 5-10 business days after receiving complete documentation. accounts requiring probate may take longer depending on estate complexity.
Customer Call Center
3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Customer Call Center
3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Customer Call Center (deceased-account and estate claims)
Hanmi Bank, 3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
What happens to Hanmi accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Hanmi's Customer Call Center (deceased-account and estate claims) ((855) 773-8778) to claim the funds.
The first step is contacting Hanmi at (855) 773-8778 with the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate in hand.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Hanmi requires:
Filing a claim
- For POD accounts: the named beneficiary provides a certified death certificate and valid government-issued photo ID to receive funds
- For joint accounts with right of survivorship: the surviving account holder provides a certified death certificate to remove the deceased from the account
- For accounts without POD or survivorship: the estate representative provides Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court
- For trust-owned accounts: the successor trustee provides the trust document and death certificate
- For IRA accounts: the designated beneficiary provides a death certificate, photo ID, and completes IRA distribution paperwork
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate (at least one original)
- Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, surviving joint owner, or estate representative
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if no POD, trust, or survivorship designation)
- Trust documents and successor trustee identification (if trust is the account owner or beneficiary)
- Account numbers for the deceased's accounts (if available)
- IRA beneficiary distribution forms (for IRA accounts)
What to know at this institution
Per the Hanmi Bank Deposit Account Agreement (effective 07/01/2025), owners agree to notify the bank immediately of the death of any owner, authorized signer, or designated beneficiary. On death the bank may freeze, offset, refuse, or reverse deposits and transactions -- including government or retirement benefit payments payable to the deceased -- and if it is required to return such funds, the surviving joint owners agree to reimburse the bank. Items the deceased authorized before death may still be paid after death, and the bank may exercise setoff or security-interest rights for debts the decedent owed even against a surviving joint owner, POD beneficiary, or Totten Trust ("In trust for") beneficiary. For a California decedent, a small-estate affidavit under California Probate Code 13100 (personal property not exceeding $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, 40 days after death) can collect deposits without probate; POD- and trust-titled accounts pass outside this process. Hanmi Bank customer service is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM PT at (855) 773-8778, with bilingual English and Korean support at most branches.
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.
- Probated will naming you as heir
- Court order of succession
- Recorded deed transferring ownership
- Trust document showing you as successor trustee or beneficiary
- Continue making payments on the existing loan
- Assume the loan or refinance
- Pay off the remaining 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, deed, or trust document)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if going through probate)
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), Hanmi 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.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Hanmi
Hanmi accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Hanmi'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 Hanmi →Processing timelines at Hanmi: POD and joint accounts typically process within 5-10 business days after receiving complete documentation. Accounts requiring probate may take longer depending on estate complexity. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
Documentation required by Hanmi includes Certified death certificate (at least one original), Government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, surviving joint owner, or estate representative, and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if no POD, trust, or survivorship designation), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Most Hanmi Bank branches offer service in Korean, and Hanmi runs a Korean-language site at https://www.hanmi.com/ko/, so a Korean-speaking successor trustee or beneficiary can be walked through a claim in Korean. The language of service is not the language of the paperwork, though: Hanmi retitles accounts and settles death claims on U.S. legal documents, and a trust agreement, court order, or death certificate issued in a language other than English generally needs a certified English translation before the bank can act on it. That matters most for a Korean death certificate or family relation certificate for a decedent who died in Korea. Call (855) 773-8778 or visit a branch to confirm what translation Hanmi will accept before you pay for one.
For account holders who were California residents, an heir or successor may collect deposit balances without formal probate using a small-estate affidavit under California Probate Code 13100. For deaths on or after April 1, 2025, the procedure applies when the decedent's total California personal property subject to probate does not exceed $208,850, and at least 40 days have passed since the date of death. Bring the completed affidavit, a certified death certificate, and government-issued photo ID to a Hanmi branch. POD and trust-titled accounts pass directly to the named beneficiary or successor trustee and do not count toward this threshold or require an affidavit. Because Hanmi is a California-headquartered bank whose branch staff see this affidavit routinely, it is usually the fastest path for a modest Hanmi-only estate. Call (855) 773-8778 to confirm the documents Hanmi requires.
Yes, and its Deposit Account Agreement (effective 07/01/2025) says so plainly. On the death of an owner, Hanmi may freeze, offset, refuse, and reverse deposits and transactions -- expressly including governmental or retirement benefit payments payable to the deceased -- and if the bank is obligated to return funds that were removed from the account after the death, the other owners agree to reimburse it. If Hanmi has any question about who owns the funds, it may freeze all or part of the account pending proof satisfactory to the bank of each person's right to them. It may also still pay an item the decedent authorized before death but that was presented afterward. For an executor, the practical rules are: notify Hanmi immediately, stop any benefit payments at the source (the agency, not just the bank), and do not spend a benefit deposit that landed after the date of death -- the surviving joint owner is the one on the hook to pay it back.
No. Hanmi publishes state-specific power of attorney forms for its banking states -- California, Illinois, New Jersey, Texas, and Virginia -- on its forms page at https://www.hanmi.com/personal/resources/, and an agent under one of those forms can operate the account while the principal is alive. That authority ends at death. Once the account holder dies, the agent has no power over the account, and the funds pass by the account's POD designation, its joint survivorship, the trust that holds it, or the estate. The person who can act after death is the POD beneficiary, the surviving joint owner, the successor trustee, or the executor with Letters -- not the former attorney-in-fact. If you have been managing a parent's Hanmi account under a POA, expect to switch documents entirely at death.
Hanmi's Customer Call Center (deceased-account and estate claims) can be reached by phone at (855) 773-8778 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Hanmi accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Customer Call Center (deceased-account and estate claims) can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Hanmi primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Call Center
3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Customer Call Center
3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Customer Call Center (deceased-account and estate claims)
Hanmi Bank, 3660 Wilshire Boulevard, PH-A, Los Angeles, CA 90010
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