What to do when a Heritage Bank account holder dies

Yes. A merger changes the bank on the sign, not the contract on the account. POD (payable on death) beneficiary designations, joint-with-right-of-survivorship titling, community property with right of survivorship titling, and trust account titles carried over to Citizens Business Bank and still control who receives the funds. What does change is the paperwork channel: to add, remove, or confirm a beneficiary on a legacy Heritage account, you now deal with Citizens Business Bank at (888) 228-2265 or at a CBB banking center, not with a Heritage personal banker. Confirm in writing that each designation survived the account conversion -- a designation the bank has no record of is a designation that will not pay.

It depends on whether the account is titled to a person or to an entity, and Heritage was overwhelmingly a business bank, so this is the question that decides most legacy Heritage estates. A sole proprietorship or DBA account is legally the owner's personal property even though it carries a business name: it passes through the owner's estate, and its balance counts toward California's $208,850 small-estate limit. A corporation, LLC, or partnership account belongs to the entity, which survives the owner -- what passes to the heirs is the deceased owner's stock or membership interest, not the cash in the account. For an entity account, Citizens Business Bank will require an updated beneficial-ownership certification when the deceased was a 25%-or-more owner or the named control person, plus the operating agreement, corporate resolution, or partnership agreement showing who now controls the entity and a resolution naming the new authorized signer. Until that is delivered, the entity account stays frozen to withdrawals.

Often, yes. California Probate Code sections 13100-13101 let a successor collect a decedent's personal property, including bank accounts, by affidavit and without formal probate when the gross value of the decedent's California real and personal property does not exceed $208,850 (the threshold for deaths on or after April 1, 2025; the Judicial Council adjusts it every three years). The affidavit may not be presented to the bank until at least 40 days after the date of death. Present it to Citizens Business Bank -- which now services all former Heritage accounts -- with a certified death certificate and photo ID. Two Heritage-specific traps: a sole proprietorship or DBA account counts toward the $208,850 limit because it is the owner's personal property, and any account with a valid POD beneficiary or a surviving joint owner does not need the affidavit at all, because the bank releases it directly to the named party.

Boxes rented at former Heritage branches are now Citizens Business Bank boxes and are accessible during banking hours at the same locations. If the box was in the decedent's sole name and no executor has been appointed yet, California Probate Code section 331 lets a person holding a key open it under bank supervision on proof of the death and proof of identity -- but only to remove instructions for disposition of the remains and to copy a trust instrument. Any will found in the box must be delivered to the clerk of the superior court, and no other contents may leave the box until an executor is appointed. On certificates of deposit, Citizens Business Bank discloses only that a penalty may be imposed for early withdrawal and publishes no death waiver, so do not assume the penalty disappears because the depositor died. Ask the bank in writing before breaking a CD; if the penalty stands and the estate can wait, let the CD run to maturity.