What to do when a Mountain Heritage FCU account holder dies
Report the death to Mountain Heritage FCU's Member Services, Parkersburg main office at 1-800-344-5262
After a member of Mountain Heritage FCU dies, the Member Services, Parkersburg main office manages the transfer of accounts. POD-designated and trust-owned accounts pass directly to beneficiaries. Accounts held solely in the member's name may require probate court documents—Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration—before funds can be released.
To start, call Mountain Heritage FCU at 1-304-424-7256. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate ready before you call.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Mountain Heritage FCU:
Filing a claim
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- Your own government-issued photo ID
- Parkersburg main office, 1822 Seventh Street: the fullest hours
- Beckley, 110 North Heber Street: Monday to Friday 9:00am-4:30pm
- Martinsburg, 321 Aikens Center: Monday to Friday 8:00am-5:00pm and Saturday morning
- Kearneysville, 132 Murrall Drive: Monday and Friday only, 11:00am-4:30pm
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- A copy of your government-issued photo ID
- The certificate and authorization of small estate, or the Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the estate is claiming
- A cover letter with the member's name, the account numbers if you have them, and your phone number and mailing address
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant, for the payable-on-death beneficiary, surviving joint owner, trustee, or personal representative
- Account numbers for the deceased member, if known
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, where the estate is collecting and does not qualify as a small estate
- Certificate and authorization of small estate from the county clerk, where the estate qualifies as a small estate, once the small estate affidavit is recordedThe certificate is issued by the county clerk or fiduciary supervisor. It, not the affidavit itself, is the document the credit union is given.
- Certification of Trust or the trust agreement, plus the successor trustee's ID, for a trust-titled account
- IRA distribution election paperwork, for an IRA beneficiary
- Cover letter, if sending the documents by mailGive the member's name, the account numbers if you have them, and your phone number and mailing address.
What happens to each kind of account6
- Payable-on-death account
The payable-on-death beneficiary claims the funds directly with the death certificate and ID. The account does not go through probate.1
- Joint account with survivorship
The surviving owner keeps the account and provides the death certificate to remove the deceased owner.1
- IRA
The named IRA beneficiary claims it on the credit union's IRA distribution paperwork.1
- Account in one name
With no payable-on-death beneficiary, joint owner or trust, the estate collects the account, either through the West Virginia small estate route or on Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.1
- Loan
A secured vehicle, recreational or home loan keeps its lien on the vehicle or the home until it is paid or refinanced, so the title cannot pass to an heir before then. A share-secured loan freezes the shares pledged behind it.1
- Life insurance policy
Mountain Heritage offers TruStage insurance to members. A life or accidental-death benefit is claimed with the insurer, and the credit union cannot pay it out of the account.2
State law on paying a balance without lettersWest Virginia
- West Virginia
W. Va. Code § 44-1-28(c), (d)
West Virginia law permits a credit union to pay from a deceased member's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.W. Va. Code § 44-1-28(c), (d)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $5,000 per account
When: 120 days after the death
Paid to: the decedent’s surviving spouse, if any; if no spouse survived the decedent, the distributees of the decedent under the laws of the State of West Virginia, as established by an affidavit to that effect (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the credit union to make it. The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- TruStage
Life and accidental-death insurance offered to Mountain Heritage members2
Not in Mountain Heritage FCU's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- Terms in its agreements for a customer's death
- How long a claim takes
Sources2
Mountain Heritage FCU's Member Services, Parkersburg main office can be reached by phone at 1-800-344-5262 and fax at 1-304-428-2127 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Mountain Heritage FCU primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Mountain Heritage FCU death claims support
Member Services, Parkersburg main office
Phone
Toll-free
Fax
Hours
Mailing address
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