What to do when a MSUFCU account holder dies
Contact MSUFCU's Members Trust Company (trust administration and estate settlement) — 4-step process, 7 required documents, and msufcu does not publish a processing time. pod and joint-account claims move fastest because they need only the death certificate, id, and the affidavit of beneficiary; estate claims wait on the probate court, since letters of personal representative (or a pc 598 affidavit, which cannot be signed until 28 days after death) must exist before msufcu will release the funds. the clock that matters most on day one is section 35's: msufcu may honor checks, payments, and transfers drawn by the member until 10 days after it learns of the death.
Member Services
Phone(517) 333-2424
Toll-Free1-800-678-4968
Fax1-866-374-2123
Mailing Address
MSU Federal Credit Union, 3777 West Road, East Lansing, MI 48823 (correspondence: P.O. Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208)
WebsiteLearn more→
Members Trust Company (trust administration and estate settlement)
Mailing Address
MSU Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208
WebsiteLearn more→
Specialty and Support Services
Phone(517) 333-2424
Toll-Free1-800-678-4968
Fax1-866-374-2123
Mailing Address
MSUFCU ATTN: Specialty and Support Services, PO Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208
Verified Jul 2026
After a MSUFCU member dies, the Members Trust Company (trust administration and estate settlement) 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.
Before contacting MSUFCU, have the account holder's full name, date of birth, and any available account numbers ready. A certified death certificate is required to initiate the claim.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at MSUFCU:
Filing a claim
1
Notify MSUFCU promptly — the notice date is what stops payments out of the account:
- Call 517-333-2424 or 800-678-4968, or visit any branch
- Give the member's full name, account number, and date of death
- Under Section 35 of the Membership and Account Agreement, MSUFCU may keep honoring checks and accepting payments or transfers drawn by the member until 10 days AFTER it learns of the death, so an unstopped auto-payment can keep draining the account until notice reaches the credit union
2
Submit a copy of the death certificate through any channel:
- In branch
- By eMessage through digital banking
- By fax to 866-374-2123
- By mail to MSUFCU ATTN: Specialty and Support Services, PO Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208
3
Prove your right to the account — MSUFCU requires it, and may require indemnification:
- POD payee: present government-issued ID and complete MSUFCU's Affidavit of Beneficiary Accepting Designated Funds. If several payees were named they take without rights of survivorship; if no named payee is living, the account falls into the estate (Section 7)
- Joint owner: the account is a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship under the Michigan Credit Union Multiple-Party Accounts Act (MCLA 490.51), and the survivor keeps access — but Section 4 warns that the survivor's share stays subject to any financial obligation, security interest, or pledge the decedent authorized, even one the survivor never agreed to
- Successor trustee: provide the trust document (or Certificate of Trust), the death certificate, and trustee ID
- Personal representative: provide Letters of Personal Representative from the Michigan probate court, or an Affidavit of Decedent's Successor (SCAO form PC 598) where the estate qualifies as a small estate
- Section 35 states that MSUFCU requires any person claiming an interest in a deceased member's accounts to prove their right to it, and MAY REQUIRE that person to indemnify MSUFCU against losses from honoring the claim
4
Expect debts to come out first, then distribution:
- Section 22 gives MSUFCU a lien and right of offset on funds in ANY account the member owned — except IRAs and HSAs — for any debt owed to it, regardless of the source of the funds
- Section 11 of the Visa Credit Card Agreement makes death an event of default, accelerating the entire card balance immediately
- What remains is paid to the POD payees, the surviving joint owner, the trust, or the estate, per the account designations and Michigan law
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD payee, joint owner, trustee, or personal representative)
- MSUFCU Affidavit of Beneficiary Accepting Designated Funds (POD payees claiming their share)
- Letters of Personal Representative from the Michigan probate court (no POD payee, trust, or joint owner)
- Affidavit of Decedent's Successor, SCAO form PC 598, where the estate qualifies — Michigan's small estate limit is $53,000 for 2026 (MCL 700.3983; base $50,000 set by 2024 PA 1, adjusted for inflation under MCL 700.1210), the affidavit covers personal property only, and it cannot be used until 28 days after death
- Trust document or Certificate of Trust plus trustee ID (trust-titled accounts or a trust named as beneficiary)
- IRA beneficiary claim and distribution election forms (IRAs and the IRA/HSA IMMA)
What to know at this institution
Three MSUFCU-specific terms shape a claim here, all from its Membership and Account Agreement. (1) Section 35 (Death of an Account Owner): the account is payable per the existing designations and Michigan law; MSUFCU may honor checks or accept payments and transfers drawn by the member until 10 days after it learns of the death; and it requires any claimant to prove their right to the account and may require that claimant to INDEMNIFY MSUFCU against any loss from honoring the claim. The same section states the member irrevocably waives the right to make a testamentary disposition of an MSUFCU account — a will cannot redirect an account away from its POD payee or joint owner. (2) Section 22 (Lien and Offset): MSUFCU can take funds from any account the member owned, other than IRAs and HSAs, to pay any debt owed to it, no matter where the money came from — so an outstanding auto loan, signature loan, or accelerated Visa balance (death is an event of default under Section 11 of the Visa agreement) is settled before anything is distributed. (3) Section 7 (POD): multiple POD payees take without rights of survivorship, IRAs are excluded from POD entirely, and if no named payee is living at the death of the last surviving owner the account becomes part of the estate. Send all death documentation to Specialty and Support Services: mail PO Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208; fax 866-374-2123; eMessage through digital banking; or in branch. Members Trust Company (517-333-2424 ext. 7280) can assist with trust administration and estate settlement after a grantor dies. Legacy American Eagle Bank accounts are now MSUFCU accounts and follow this same process; the former American Eagle offices are reachable at 847-742-7400 (South Elgin) and 773-328-2350 (Chicago).
Prepare your letter of instruction to MSUFCU
MSUFCU accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to MSUFCU's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionProcessing timelines at MSUFCU: MSUFCU does not publish a processing time. POD and joint-account claims move fastest because they need only the death certificate, ID, and the Affidavit of Beneficiary; estate claims wait on the probate court, since Letters of Personal Representative (or a PC 598 affidavit, which cannot be signed until 28 days after death) must exist before MSUFCU will release the funds. The clock that matters most on day one is Section 35's: MSUFCU may honor checks, payments, and transfers drawn by the member until 10 days after it learns of the death. Incomplete documentation is the most common cause of delays—submitting all required documents with the initial claim helps avoid additional processing time.
MSUFCU requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD payee, joint owner, trustee, or personal representative), and MSUFCU Affidavit of Beneficiary Accepting Designated Funds (POD payees claiming their share), 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
Up to 10 days after it learns of the death. Section 35 of the Membership and Account Agreement says MSUFCU may honor checks or accept payments or transfers drawn by the member until 10 days after it learns of the death. Two consequences follow. First, the clock does not start at the date of death — it starts when MSUFCU is told, so a recurring mortgage payment, insurance premium, or subscription can keep clearing out of the account until someone calls 517-333-2424 or 800-678-4968. Second, the same section says MSUFCU requires anyone claiming an interest in a deceased member's accounts to prove their right to it and may require that person to indemnify the credit union against losses from honoring the claim, so expect to sign more than a receipt when you collect the funds.
They can. Section 22 of the Membership and Account Agreement gives MSUFCU a lien and a right of offset on funds in any account the member owned — regardless of where the money in it came from — to pay any debt owed to the credit union, and it excludes only IRAs and HSAs from that reach. Separately, Section 11 of the MSUFCU Visa Credit Card Agreement makes the cardholder's death an event of default, which makes the entire card balance due and payable immediately. In practice that means the deposit balances an executor is counting on can be reduced by the decedent's MSUFCU loan and card debt before any distribution, while the IRA and HSA balances stay out of reach of that offset.
Where the estate qualifies, yes. Michigan's Affidavit of Decedent's Successor (SCAO form PC 598, MCL 700.3983) lets a successor collect a decedent's personal property — a credit union account included — without a personal representative, when the estate's value does not exceed the statutory limit, which for 2026 is $53,000 (the base $50,000 set by 2024 PA 1, adjusted for inflation under MCL 700.1210). The affidavit reaches personal property only, and it cannot be signed until 28 days after death. Bring the completed affidavit, a certified death certificate, and your photo ID to a branch, or mail them to MSUFCU ATTN: Specialty and Support Services, PO Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208. Above the limit, MSUFCU will look for Letters of Personal Representative from the probate court. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions about whether an estate qualifies.
Section 7 of the Membership and Account Agreement answers both. If more than one POD payee is named, the account passes to all of them WITHOUT rights of survivorship — each payee takes their own share, and the share of a payee who died first does not automatically roll to the survivors. If no named payee is living when the last surviving owner dies, the whole account becomes part of the owner's estate and goes through probate. The will cannot fix a stale designation: Section 35 states the member irrevocably waives the right to make a testamentary disposition of any MSUFCU account, so the account is payable per the designations on file, not per the will. Note also that IRAs are excluded from POD designations entirely — IRA beneficiaries live on a separate form.
Two MSUFCU-specific things govern this. First, Section 8 of the Membership and Account Agreement states that trust and other entity accounts run under a SEPARATE account agreement — the ordinary membership terms do not apply — so the successor trustee should read the trust account agreement itself rather than the general one, and Section 30 lets MSUFCU decline instructions, require an indemnity, or ask for a bond if a trustee's directions could expose it to a claim. Second, membership follows the account: MSUFCU's field of membership is anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school, or owns a business in Michigan, plus the MSU and Oakland University communities and select employee groups, so a successor trustee outside that field should confirm with Specialty and Support Services (517-333-2424) that they can hold the account before the trust has to move into their hands. Members Trust Company, MSUFCU's trust partner, can administer or settle the trust as trustee or co-trustee (517-333-2424 ext. 7280).
MSUFCU's Specialty and Support Services can be reached by phone at 1-800-678-4968 and fax at 1-866-374-2123 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple MSUFCU accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Members Trust Company (trust administration and estate settlement) can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from MSUFCU primary sources (17 pages reviewed). How we research.
Member Services
Phone(517) 333-2424
Toll-Free1-800-678-4968
Fax1-866-374-2123
Mailing Address
MSU Federal Credit Union, 3777 West Road, East Lansing, MI 48823 (correspondence: P.O. Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208)
WebsiteLearn more→
Members Trust Company (trust administration and estate settlement)
Mailing Address
MSU Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208
WebsiteLearn more→
Specialty and Support Services
Phone(517) 333-2424
Toll-Free1-800-678-4968
Fax1-866-374-2123
Mailing Address
MSUFCU ATTN: Specialty and Support Services, PO Box 1208, East Lansing, MI 48826-1208
Verified Jul 2026
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