What to do when a Merchants Bank of Indiana account holder dies
Report the death to Merchants Bank of Indiana's Contact Center at 1-844-222-6562
When an account holder at Merchants Bank of Indiana passes away, the next step depends on how the accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Merchants Bank of Indiana's Contact Center (1-844-222-6562) to access and distribute the funds.
Death claim process
The death claim process at Merchants Bank of Indiana works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from an Indiana court
- An Indiana small estate affidavit, if the estate qualifies, presented directly to the bank and not filed with a court
- A Certification of Trust, for a trust-titled account
What happens to each kind of account2
- Health savings account
An authorized signer on a health savings account has no ownership and no right of survivorship. The authorization "terminates upon death of the account owner, and rights to funds in the account will be transferred to the account owner's beneficiaries."1
"If beneficiary (ies) were not designated, account balance will only be payable to the account owner's estate." An HSA with a named beneficiary passes to that beneficiary; one without goes through the probate or small-estate path.1
- Certificate of deposit
Merchants' CD pages say only that a penalty "may be imposed" for early withdrawal. Ask the bank what happens to a CD before maturity before breaking it.2
Not in Merchants Bank of Indiana's published guidance5
- A procedure for reporting a death
- How long a claim takes
- Terms in its agreements for a customer's death
- A list of required documents
- Death waiver of the CD early withdrawal penalty
Sources2
Merchants Bank of Indiana's Contact Center can be reached by phone at 1-844-222-6562 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Merchants Bank of Indiana primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Merchants Bank of Indiana death claims support
Contact Center (death notifications and account claims; no bereavement line and no claims portal)
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Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Merchants Bank of Indiana accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
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