What to do when a Ledyard Bank account holder dies
Contact Ledyard Bank's Ledyard Wealth Management — Investment and Trust Services Division (fiduciary / corporate trustee) — 7-step process, 5 required documents, and joint-survivorship and trust-titled accounts are the fast path once documents are in hand. pod accounts are not: ledyard's account agreement bars the beneficiary from withdrawing until 90 days after the death of the last surviving owner. estate-only accounts wait on the probate appointment, since new hampshire offers no affidavit-only bank collection.
Customer Service
Ledyard Bank, 66 Benning Street, Suite 5, West Lebanon, NH 03784
Ledyard Wealth Management — Investment and Trust Services Division (fiduciary / corporate trustee)
Ledyard Bank Wealth Management, 38 S. Main Street, Hanover, NH 03755
Client Support Team (deceased account holders)
Ledyard Bank, 66 Benning Street, Suite 5, West Lebanon, NH 03784
After an account holder at Ledyard Bank dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Ledyard Bank's Client Support Team (deceased account holders) at 603-643-2244 with the proper legal authority documents.
Death claims at Ledyard Bank can be started through an online portal, which streamlines the initial notification and document upload. Phone and mail options are also available.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Ledyard Bank works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Ledyard may keep honoring the decedent's checks, items, and instructions until it knows of the death AND has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge
- Even after notice, it may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to TEN (10) DAYS after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders it to stop payment
- If outstanding checks should not clear, place that stop-payment instruction in writing when you report the death
- A pay-on-death beneficiary CANNOT withdraw until (1) all persons who created the account have died, (2) at least 90 days have passed since the death of the last surviving owner, and (3) the beneficiary is then living
- For Vermont accounts there is a fourth condition: within that 90-day window Ledyard must not have been served with process by the account holder's personal representative or with a probate court order prohibiting payment
- Two or more surviving POD beneficiaries take the account in EQUAL SHARES, without right of survivorship — a POD designation cannot be used to give an unequal split
- Ledyard runs separate New Hampshire and Vermont ownership rule sets; which one governs depends on the state of the account, not the beneficiary's residence
- Joint account with survivorship: the surviving owner(s) present a certified death certificate and photo ID; the balance belongs to the survivor(s), subject to any prior pledge Ledyard agreed to
- Joint account with NO survivorship (tenants in common): the decedent's share passes through the estate, not to the co-owner
- POD account: the named beneficiary presents a certified death certificate and photo ID, then waits out the 90 days above
- Trust-titled account: the successor trustee presents a certified death certificate, the trust agreement or Certificate of Trust, and trustee ID. On a Vermont "Revocable Trust Only" account, at the death of the surviving trustee the deposit may be paid to the person for whom it was made, or to that person's estate
- No POD, no joint owner, no trust: the estate representative presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the New Hampshire Circuit Court Probate Division
- IRA: the designated beneficiary presents a certified death certificate and photo ID; distribution options depend on beneficiary type
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate (original or certified copy)
- Government-issued photo ID for claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration issued by the New Hampshire Circuit Court Probate Division (if no POD, joint, or trust account)
- Court appointment reflecting waiver of administration under N.H. RSA 553:32, where the surviving spouse, sole heir, or sole beneficiary is appointed administrator (New Hampshire has no small-estate affidavit; the administrator is still appointed by the probate court)
- Trust documents and successor trustee identification (if trust-titled account)
What to know at this institution
Ledyard publishes no dedicated deceased-account web page; the governing document is the Consumer Account Disclosure (effective 12/01/2025, https://ledyard.bank/Assets/PDF/Consumer-All-in-One-Disclosure.aspx), which carries the 10-day check-honoring window, the 90-day POD withdrawal bar, the equal-shares/no-survivorship rule for multiple POD beneficiaries, separate New Hampshire and Vermont ownership rule sets, and the administrative-hold-on-dispute clause. New Hampshire does not offer a small-estate affidavit that lets a successor collect bank funds without court involvement; the streamlined path is waiver of administration under N.H. RSA 553:32, available when the surviving spouse, sole heir, or sole beneficiary is appointed administrator (that administrator files an affidavit of administration with the probate court within six months to one year). Because Ledyard operates its own trust department (the Investment and Trust Services Division, established 1994, trading as Ledyard Wealth Management / Ledyard Financial Advisors), accounts it holds as corporate trustee or co-trustee are administered internally under the trust instrument on the grantor's death and never enter the retail deceased-account process; the successor or co-trustee works directly with Wealth Management at 603-643-0044, or with Scott Coulter, SVP Chief Wealth Planning Officer, at 603-513-4082 / scott.coulter@ledyard.bank.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Ledyard Bank
Ledyard Bank accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Ledyard Bank'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 Ledyard Bank →Expected timelines at Ledyard Bank: Joint-survivorship and trust-titled accounts are the fast path once documents are in hand. POD accounts are NOT: Ledyard's account agreement bars the beneficiary from withdrawing until 90 days after the death of the last surviving owner. Estate-only accounts wait on the probate appointment, since New Hampshire offers no affidavit-only bank collection. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Ledyard Bank requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate (original or certified copy), Government-issued photo ID for claimant, and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration issued by the New Hampshire Circuit Court Probate Division (if no POD, joint, or trust account), and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Ninety days — and this is unusual enough that it should drive how you title the account. Ledyard's Consumer Account Disclosure (effective 12/01/2025) states that a pay-on-death beneficiary cannot withdraw unless all persons who created the account have died, at least 90 days have passed since the death of the last surviving owner, and the beneficiary is then living. Vermont accounts add a fourth condition: during that 90-day window the bank must not have been served with process by the account holder's personal representative or with a probate court order prohibiting payment. If your family will need cash for a funeral or bills in the first three months, a POD designation at Ledyard will not deliver it — hold the account jointly with rights of survivorship, or title it in a revocable trust, both of which pay out as soon as the documents are verified. Note too that multiple surviving POD beneficiaries take the account in EQUAL SHARES with no right of survivorship, so an unequal split cannot be achieved with a POD designation.
It has its own. Ledyard is an independent community bank (wholly owned by Ledyard Financial Group, Inc., OTCQX: LFGP — not acquired or merging), and its Investment and Trust Services Division has run in-house since 1994, trading today as Ledyard Wealth Management / Ledyard Financial Advisors. It serves as trustee or co-trustee, manages trusts nationwide, and can act as the independent trustee a trust needs when an unrelated party is required. Accounts Ledyard holds as corporate trustee or co-trustee do not go through the retail deceased-account process at all: on the grantor's death they are administered internally under the trust instrument, and the successor or co-trustee works directly with Wealth Management at 603-643-0044 (Mon-Fri 8:30 AM-4:30 PM ET), or with Scott Coulter, SVP Chief Wealth Planning Officer, at 603-513-4082 / scott.coulter@ledyard.bank. Brokerage assets held alongside the trust are custodied through Osaic Institutions, Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC), which has its own beneficiary paperwork.
Up to ten days. Under the "Death or Incompetence" clause of Ledyard's Consumer Account Disclosure, the bank may keep honoring the decedent's checks, items, and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge — and even after notice, it may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten (10) days after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders it to stop payment. The disclosure also obliges you to notify the bank promptly. If outstanding checks should not clear, put the stop-payment instruction in writing at the same time you report the death. Separately, if heirs disagree over the account, Ledyard's "Resolving Account Disputes" clause lets it place an administrative hold and refuse payment until a court decides or the dispute is resolved.
New Hampshire does not have a small-estate affidavit that lets a successor collect bank funds without going to court, so an account with no POD beneficiary and no surviving joint owner passes to the estate and requires a probate appointment. The estate representative presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the New Hampshire Circuit Court Probate Division. Where the surviving spouse, sole heir, or sole beneficiary is appointed, New Hampshire's waiver of administration under RSA 553:32 streamlines the estate by removing the usual inventory, bond, and accounting requirements, though the administrator is still appointed by the court and files an affidavit of administration within six months to one year. Holding the account jointly with rights of survivorship or titling it in a revocable trust avoids this step; a POD designation avoids probate but imposes Ledyard's own 90-day withdrawal wait. Contact the Client Support Team at 1-888-746-4562.
Ledyard Bank's Client Support Team (deceased account holders) can be reached by phone at 1-888-746-4562, email at contactus@ledyard.bank, and fax at 603-643-7464 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple Ledyard Bank accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Client Support Team (deceased account holders) to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from Ledyard Bank primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Service
Ledyard Bank, 66 Benning Street, Suite 5, West Lebanon, NH 03784
Ledyard Wealth Management — Investment and Trust Services Division (fiduciary / corporate trustee)
Ledyard Bank Wealth Management, 38 S. Main Street, Hanover, NH 03755
Client Support Team (deceased account holders)
Ledyard Bank, 66 Benning Street, Suite 5, West Lebanon, NH 03784
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