What to do when a Marcus account holder dies

It depends on WHICH owner died, which is unusual and catches survivors off guard. All Marcus joint accounts are held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, so the funds belong to the survivor either way — but the account itself may not survive. If the JOINT owner dies, the surviving PRIMARY owner has the option to keep the accounts open, and Marcus simply removes the deceased owner's name; any affected CDs may be closed and withdrawn in full with no penalty. If the PRIMARY owner dies, Marcus states it is obligated to CLOSE the accounts, including any jointly held CDs, with no early withdrawal penalty, and the surviving joint owner has to open new accounts if they want to keep the money at Marcus. Either way, notify Marcus promptly: until it receives notice and the required documentation, it may act as if all owners are still alive, and it may restrict the account once it has a reasonable basis to believe an owner is deceased. Note also that POD beneficiaries on a joint account are paid only on the death of the LAST surviving owner.

Yes. If the deceased depositor was a New Jersey resident, Marcus requires New Jersey Form L-8, the inheritance tax waiver issued by the State of New Jersey, in addition to the ordinary death-claim documents. This is the single state-specific requirement in the Marcus deceased depositor process, and it has real teeth: until Goldman Sachs Bank USA receives the L-8, joint owners, beneficiaries, and estates are entitled to receive no more than 50% of the funds in the account. The form must be notarized and Marcus will only accept an original — a photocopy is rejected even if the photocopy itself has been notarized. The form is downloaded from the New Jersey Division of Taxation, not from Marcus. Because the L-8 gates half the money, a New Jersey survivor should start it at the same time as the death certificate rather than after.

No, and it says so in writing. The Deposit Account Agreement states that Marcus makes no representation as to whether a POD designation complies with any state laws other than Utah and New York, and that the account owner is solely responsible for making sure the account meets applicable state requirements. Marcus is an online bank whose deposits are held through the Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City branch, so its POD terms are drafted against Utah law. That matters because POD rules vary by state on questions like spousal or community property rights, creditor claims against the account, and how a POD account interacts with a will. Marcus also has no contingent beneficiary option and pays all beneficiaries in equal shares, so a designation cannot be shaped to match an uneven bequest. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions about how a Marcus POD designation fits with your estate plan and your state's law.