What to do when a KEMBA account holder dies
Contact KEMBA — 4-step process, 7 required documents, and pod accounts typically processed within 5-10 business days once the death certificate and claimant id are verified; joint accounts updated on presentation of the death certificate; the agreement lets checks keep clearing for ten days after death unless stopped; estate accounts wait on letters or an ohio release-from-administration entry
Member Services
PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Member Services
PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Member Services (Death Claims)
KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
When a member of KEMBA passes away, the Member Services (Death Claims) handles the transition of accounts to beneficiaries or the estate. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate, while solely-owned accounts may require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
The claim process begins with a phone call to 1-614-235-2395. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate available when making initial contact.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with KEMBA:
Filing a claim
- Call KEMBA Member Services at 614-235-2395 (option 4) or toll-free at 800-282-6420, or visit any KEMBA branch (https://www.kemba.org/about/find-a-location)
- Until KEMBA knows of the death, it may keep honoring transfer orders, withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions on the account
- Even after it knows, KEMBA may keep paying checks and drafts drawn on the account for TEN DAYS after death unless a person claiming an interest in the account instructs it to stop payment — ask for the stop payment in the same call if outstanding checks or recurring debits should not clear
- The same clause covers adjudicated incompetence, so it is also the clause that governs when an agent under a power of attorney steps in
- POD accounts: the named beneficiary presents a certified death certificate and government-issued photo ID; where more than one POD payee survives, they hold the funds jointly in equal shares WITHOUT rights of survivorship unless Ohio law provides otherwise (section 4)
- Joint accounts: unless the membership application says otherwise, the account carries rights of survivorship and passes to the surviving owner(s); provide a death certificate to update the records
- Trust-titled accounts: on the death of one trustee, all rights in the account belong to the surviving trustee(s); the trust documentation, not KEMBA, names the successor trustee (section 5)
- IRAs: POD does not apply (section 4); only the beneficiary named on the IRA beneficiary designation form may claim
- Accounts with no POD, joint owner, or trust title: the balance passes to the estate
- The executor or administrator presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Ohio estates of $35,000 or less can instead use a release from administration under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 2113.03, and estates of $100,000 or less where the surviving spouse is the sole heir or devisee qualify for the same release — the court entry, not KEMBA, is what releases the funds
- Stop automatic payments and deposits on the deceased member's accounts, and expect KEMBA to require an indemnification from anyone claiming a deceased owner's funds (section 33)
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for claimant (unexpired)
- Deceased member's Social Security number or account number
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if the estate is administered)
- Probate court entry granting release from administration under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 2113.03 ($35,000, or $100,000 where the surviving spouse is sole heir or devisee)
- Trust documents or Certificate of Trust (if a trust is the beneficiary or the account is trust-titled)
- Indemnification, if KEMBA requires one under section 33 of the Membership Agreement
What to know at this institution
KEMBA publishes no dedicated deceased-member page. The specifics above come from the Membership Agreement and Disclosures (kemba.org/assets/files/jF6RJY9u/r/General+Membership+Disclosures+and+Agreements+01.22.2026.pdf, form 03413076-D1000-C-1-041425, read 2026-07-12): section 33 "Death or Incompetence" (transactions honored until notice; ten more days of checks and drafts unless a claimant stops payment; indemnification may be required; the agreement binds heirs and legal representatives), section 4 POD/Trust designations (equal shares, no survivorship, among multiple POD payees; POD never applies to IRAs), section 5 Trust Accounts (settlor of a revocable/living trust must be a KEMBA member; any trustee may act alone; rights pass to the surviving trustee(s)), and section 23 pledge/right of offset/statutory lien (KEMBA may apply account balances to an obligation in default). Insurance benefits are NOT paid by the credit union: TruStage AD&D and life claims go to myclaim.trustage.com or myclaimportal.cunamutual.com (contract 03413076), and loan GAP claims to the KEMBA insurance claims portal.
Prepare your letter of instruction to KEMBA
KEMBA accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to KEMBA's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at KEMBA: POD accounts typically processed within 5-10 business days once the death certificate and claimant ID are verified; joint accounts updated on presentation of the death certificate; the agreement lets checks keep clearing for ten days after death unless stopped; estate accounts wait on Letters or an Ohio release-from-administration entry. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by KEMBA includes Certified death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for claimant (unexpired), and Deceased member's Social Security number or account number, along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Section 5 of KEMBA's Membership Agreement and Disclosures requires that, for a revocable or living trust account, the individual who established the trust (the Settlor) be a KEMBA member. If you are retitling accounts into a trust created by someone who never joined KEMBA, membership has to be established first (kemba.org/about/become-a-member). The same section adds two rules worth knowing before you fund the trust: any trustee may withdraw funds or pledge shares against a loan acting alone unless the trust documentation says otherwise, and on the death of one trustee all rights in the account belong to the surviving trustee(s), with the trust documentation (not KEMBA) naming any successor trustee.
Section 33 of the Membership Agreement ("Death or Incompetence") lets KEMBA honor transfers, withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions until it knows the member has died, and then keep paying checks and drafts drawn on the account for ten days after the death unless a person claiming an interest in the account instructs it to stop payment. So report the death and request the stop payment in the same call to 614-235-2395 (option 4) if outstanding checks or recurring debits should not clear. The same section lets KEMBA require anyone claiming a deceased owner's funds to indemnify it against losses from honoring the claim, and provides that the agreement binds the member's heirs and legal representatives.
Section 4 of KEMBA's membership agreement provides that when more than one POD payee survives, they own the funds jointly in EQUAL shares without rights of survivorship, unless Ohio law provides otherwise or KEMBA has documented a different split. Unequal percentage splits are therefore not the default; confirm in the branch that the allocation you want is documented. The agreement also states KEMBA is not obligated to notify a beneficiary that an account exists, so tell your beneficiaries yourself.
Ohio offers release from administration under Ohio Rev. Code sec. 2113.03: estates of $35,000 or less qualify, and so do estates of $100,000 or less where the surviving spouse is the sole heir or devisee. The probate court entry granting the release is what KEMBA needs in place of Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration; bring it with a certified death certificate and your photo ID to a branch, or mail it to KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230. KEMBA does not accept a self-signed affidavit in place of the court entry.
KEMBA does not pay those benefits itself. TruStage AD&D and life insurance claims are filed with the insurer at myclaim.trustage.com or myclaimportal.cunamutual.com; KEMBA's TruStage contract number is 03413076. Credit insurance and GAP claims on a deceased member's loan go through KEMBA's insurance claims portal at kemba.org/resources/tools/insurance-claims-portal. Member Services (614-235-2395, option 4) can confirm what coverage was in force but will route the claim itself to the insurer.
KEMBA's Member Services (Death Claims) can be reached by phone at 1-800-282-6420 and fax at 1-614-324-8360 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple KEMBA accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Member Services (Death Claims) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from KEMBA primary sources (24 pages reviewed). How we research.
Member Services
PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Member Services
PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
Member Services (Death Claims)
KEMBA Financial Credit Union, PO Box 307370, Gahanna, OH 43230
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