What to do when a Liberty Bank (Connecticut) account holder dies

A joint account with survivorship belongs to the surviving owners when one owner dies; two or more survivors hold it together with survivorship.¹

On a Revocable Trust Account, a named beneficiary can withdraw only after the person who created the account has died, and only if the beneficiary is then alive.¹

Liberty may waive the early withdrawal penalty on a CD after an owner dies. It asks for a death certificate or a certified court order first.¹

An executor, administrator or conservator acting under a court order may open and keep an account at Liberty. The bank does not oversee how a fiduciary uses the money.¹

If the minor on a UTMA account dies, the custodian is the one responsible for distributing the money in the account.¹

For a Massachusetts Revocable Trust Account, once the last trustee has died the money may go in equal parts to the beneficiaries who survive, or to a beneficiary's legal representative.¹

Investment accounts held through Raymond James Financial Services, which are not Liberty Bank deposits^{2, 3}

Liberty may keep honoring checks and instructions until it knows of the death and has had time to act. Checks dated on or before the date of death may be paid for up to ten days afterward unless someone with an interest in the account orders a stop.¹

A power of attorney on the account ends at the owner's death. Liberty may keep following the agent until it has written notice or actual knowledge of the death and time to act on it.¹

When survivors or beneficiaries make competing claims to an account, Liberty may hold the funds until a court decides or the dispute is settled, and it may pay the money into court, taking its costs from the funds.¹

Liberty may apply money in an account to a debt that any owner owes it, including on a joint account. It does not do so from an IRA, or where the debtor can withdraw only in a representative role.¹

An account with no activity or contact for a period of years may be turned over to the state. After that, the money is claimed from the state, not from Liberty.¹

The deposit terms follow federal law and Connecticut law, and accounts opened online are opened in Connecticut.¹

The arbitration agreement in the deposit terms also covers an owner's heirs, trustees and other representatives, and the account's beneficiaries.¹