What to do when a Hawaii State FCU account holder dies

The funds are "split equally among the beneficiaries/payees who are alive when the owner or last surviving owner of a joint account dies." If no beneficiary survives the last owner, the estate of the last living owner is entitled to the funds.¹

The credit union is "not obligated to notify any beneficiary/payee of the existence of any account or the vesting of the beneficiary/payee's interest."²

All sums pass to the surviving owners, and the credit union "may remove the deceased owner's name from the account." If the deceased owner's Social Security number was used for tax reporting, it may close the account and the survivor may open a new one.¹

A joint account holder "may continue using the debit card until the account is closed."³

An individual account with no payable-on-death beneficiary and no joint owner passes to the estate. The credit union needs Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, or a Hawaii Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property for a small estate.¹

The Term Share disclosure has a death exception to the early withdrawal penalty. It applies at the credit union's option, so ask for it.⁴

The funds move into a Beneficiary IRA for each beneficiary. A $10 a month Non-Member Beneficiary IRA service fee applies where the beneficiary is not a member.¹

The successor trustee acts on the account after submitting the necessary documentation. The payable-on-death rules do not reach a trust account.¹

Boxes are rented at branches at $50 (5x5), $60 (3x10) and $75 (5x10) a year. Lost key replacement and locksmith services are billed at actual cost, and a late rental payment is $10 per delinquency.⁵

An authorized user on a credit card "must stop using the card immediately," and a co-borrower may still be responsible for the balance.³

eStatements stay on Digital Banking "for up to 18 months beginning from your eStatement enrollment date." Older statements have to be requested.³

A statement copy is $5, off-site record retrieval is $5 per storage box, and research and account reconciliation are $25 an hour. ATM research and photographs vary in cost.⁵

The credit union may honor transactions until it is notified of the death, and may keep paying checks, drafts and payment orders the member authorized "for a reasonable period after the member's death" unless a person claiming an interest in the account tells it to stop.²

A stop payment is $28 per request, covering checks, Official Checks, ACH stop and revocation, and BillPay checks. "Payment cannot be stopped on an Official Check until 90 days after the date of issue."⁵

The credit union may limit or refuse a withdrawal where "required documentation has not been presented" or where "a member is deceased ... or the required disposition of the account has not been made."²

The credit union "may require anyone claiming a deceased owner's account funds to indemnify us for any losses resulting from our honoring that claim."²

Where owners disagree, the credit union may suspend or terminate the account and require a court order or the written consent of all owners before acting.¹

The credit union's statutory lien and right of offset over share balances for a defaulted obligation reaches a surviving joint owner's interest for the deceased owner's obligations "even if a surviving owner did not consent to it," but not an IRA "or any other account that would lose special tax treatment."²

A power of attorney "is terminated upon the death of the individual."³

Depositing agencies must be notified because "government payments made after death may be returned automatically." Social Security or pension payments "must be coordinated with the issuing agency; credit unions cannot redirect them."³

"After five (5) consecutive years of inactivity without contact from you, your account will be presumed abandoned." A $50 Abandoned Property Processing fee is charged when the funds are remitted to the State, and "we have no further liability to you for such funds."²

An Inactive Account Fee of $5 a month applies to a checking account after 12 months with no member-initiated activity. It does not apply to HiFlex.¹

Closing the $100 membership share ends the membership, so it is closed only after every other account, loan and safe deposit box is resolved.¹

Notary service is by appointment only, at $5 per signature with two free signatures a day for members.⁵

Legal process served on an account (a levy, subpoena or garnishment) costs the account $50 per document.¹

The Locations page describes notary service as walk-in and free to members.⁶