Estate planning at Northwest
How to protect 17 Northwest accounts — manage beneficiaries in-branch, fund a trust in-branch, and file claims through Northwest's Northwest Bank Trust Department (Wealth Management)
Northwest Direct / Customer Contact Center
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Northwest Bank Trust Department (Wealth Management)
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Northwest Direct / Customer Contact Center (Northwest publishes no dedicated death-claim department or form; estate claims are handled at a financial center or through Northwest Direct, with the Trust Department available for full estate settlement)
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Northwest offers 17 consumer accounts that interact with estate planning in distinct ways. Of those, 13 can name a trust as beneficiary or be retitled into a trust. Understanding the transfer methods available for each account type helps families keep assets out of probate and ensure they pass to the right people.
Beneficiary designations at Northwest can be managed in branch and by phone, typically taking 15-30 minutes at a financial center. Trust funding is also available, allowing families to retitle accounts into the name of a revocable living trust.
Northwest 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 17 account types at Northwest.
View details →When someone dies
Death claim process
Contact Northwest's Northwest Bank Trust Department (Wealth Management) to file a claim. 10-step process, 9 required documents, and contact information for survivors.
View details →For questions about any of these procedures, contact Northwest's Northwest Bank Trust Department (Wealth Management) at 1-877-672-5678. Email inquiries can be sent to info@northwest.com.
Because Northwest 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 -- and that is unusual for a bank of its size. Trust, fiduciary, employee benefit plan, and retirement services are offered through Northwest Bank's own Trust Department (not through LPL). It will help design and administer living, revocable, irrevocable, and testamentary trusts; invest trust assets; file trust tax returns; manage insurance policies; disburse to beneficiaries; manage IRAs; and, in its own words, act as executor or agent of an estate if you have no one else to name. Contact Trust Support at 1-814-452-1000. Keep the two arms straight: the Trust Department is Northwest Bank itself and is the fiduciary; Northwest Investment Services is a brand under which LPL Financial -- a separate, unaffiliated broker-dealer and adviser -- offers brokerage, advisory, annuity, and insurance products (1-877-300-3454).
Sources
Data sourced from Northwest primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Northwest Direct / Customer Contact Center
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Northwest Bank Trust Department (Wealth Management)
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Northwest Direct / Customer Contact Center (Northwest publishes no dedicated death-claim department or form; estate claims are handled at a financial center or through Northwest Direct, with the Trust Department available for full estate settlement)
Northwest Bank, P.O. Box 128, Warren, PA 16365
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Northwest accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
