Estate planning at New England FCU
How to protect 20 New England FCU accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file death claims
Brand change
New England Federal Credit Union merged with Vermont State Employees Credit Union on January 1, 2023 and began operating as EastRise Credit Union on September 19, 2024. Same credit union, same member and account numbers; nefcu.com redirects to eastrise.com. All contacts and procedures on this page are EastRise's. Effective September 2024.
The procedures below reflect New England FCU's accounts. Account servicing may transfer as the change takes effect.
EastRise Credit Union Member Services
Written notices to the credit union: EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Deposit, loan, and mortgage payments: EastRise Credit Union, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Visa payments: EastRise Credit Union VISA Payments, P.O. Box 37603, Philadelphia, PA 19101.
EastRise Credit Union Member Services
Written notices to the credit union: EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Deposit, loan, and mortgage payments: EastRise Credit Union, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Visa payments: EastRise Credit Union VISA Payments, P.O. Box 37603, Philadelphia, PA 19101.
EastRise Member Services (EastRise publishes no separate estate or death-claims department; deceased-member claims are handled by member services and the branches)
EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495
New England FCU offers 20 accounts, each with its own rules for what happens when a member dies. As a membership-based credit union, New England FCU branches are in Vermont (Bennington, Berlin, Brattleboro, Burlington, Colchester Service Center, and others — https://www.eastrise.com/locations/), with members in neighboring New England states. Membership requires eligibility under the credit union's federal charter plus a $5 share deposit; check current eligibility at https://www.eastrise.com/open-account/. Members can also transact at roughly 5,000 shared-branch locations and about 30,000 fee-free CO-OP ATMs nationwide, which matters for an out-of-state executor who cannot get to Vermont — but estate paperwork itself is handled by EastRise, not by a shared branch. Some transfer automatically to a named beneficiary, others can be held in a trust, and a few may require probate if no plan is in place.
New England FCU lets account holders update beneficiary designations in branch and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes to complete the form; designation is effective when EastRise accepts it.. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle accounts into the name of a revocable living trust.
New England FCU provides specific procedures for both proactive estate planning and filing claims after a death.
Preparing your estate
Beneficiaries and trust funding
How to update beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and review 20 account types at New England FCU.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
8-step process, 6 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →Because New England FCU serves a limited number of states, procedures for trust funding and beneficiary changes may differ depending on your location. Verify availability before starting.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. New England Federal Credit Union merged with Vermont State Employees Credit Union (VSECU) on January 1, 2023, and the combined credit union began operating as EastRise Credit Union on September 19, 2024. It is the same federally chartered credit union (Charter No. 19263), and nefcu.com redirects to eastrise.com. A beneficiary form signed under the NEFCU or VSECU name is a designation on the same account record. If you want to confirm what EastRise currently has on file for an account, call 800.400.8790 — and if you want to change it, use the current In Trust For (ITF), Totten Trust Beneficiary Addendum Form, because the most recent form on file supersedes every earlier designation.
It offers accounts, not fiduciary services. EastRise does not have a trust department and does not serve as trustee or executor. Its Member Service Agreement (Provision 4.h) is explicit that administering a trust account according to the trust is the trustee's responsibility, not EastRise's, and that EastRise is "not assisting you with or advising you about the trust." What it does do: hold accounts in the name of a trust (bylaws Article III, Section 6 requires that the settlor of a revocable trust already be a member in his own right — for an irrevocable trust, either the settlor or the beneficiary must be a member); open accounts for a fiduciary purpose, including an estate account for an executor (Provision 4.i); and give members access to an online estate planning tool through TruStage and One Digital Trust at https://www.eastrise.com/personal/estate-planning/, which is a self-service document platform, not legal representation.
Sources
Data sourced from New England FCU primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
EastRise Credit Union Member Services
Written notices to the credit union: EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Deposit, loan, and mortgage payments: EastRise Credit Union, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Visa payments: EastRise Credit Union VISA Payments, P.O. Box 37603, Philadelphia, PA 19101.
EastRise Credit Union Member Services
Written notices to the credit union: EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Deposit, loan, and mortgage payments: EastRise Credit Union, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. Visa payments: EastRise Credit Union VISA Payments, P.O. Box 37603, Philadelphia, PA 19101.
EastRise Member Services (EastRise publishes no separate estate or death-claims department; deceased-member claims are handled by member services and the branches)
EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your New England FCU accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
