What to do when an Orange County's CU account holder dies

Completed by the claimant. Available to download.¹

The credit union makes every effort to contact the P.O.D. beneficiaries designated on the account Signature Card.²

On the death of the single party to a P.O.D. account, ownership passes to the named pay-on-death payee(s).³

If the deceased was the Primary Owner, funds are disbursed to the joint owner and the account is closed. If the deceased was a Joint Owner, the membership can remain open.²

With no beneficiary and an executor or administrator appointed, distribution is made in the name of the deceased Member's estate.²

An individually owned share certificate is disbursed to the estate or the listed beneficiaries. A surviving joint owner may move the funds as-is into a new certificate with the same rate and maturity date, or cash it in without penalty.²

File maintenance can take up to 15 business days before funds are disbursed to the beneficiary. A spouse may transfer directly into an IRA in their own name.²

Where one trustor has died and another is living, the Tax ID may need to be updated and a new Trust Agreement and Trustee Certification of Trust completed.²

Where all trustors have died, the trust converts to irrevocable and successor trustees are added. The credit union reviews the trust documents if no successor trustee is listed on its current Trust Agreement.²

Five settlement checklists are linked from the account settlement guidance page: Trust Accounts, Deceased Joint Member, General Membership with Beneficiary, General Membership without Beneficiary, and Large Estate.^{2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

The Account Agreement says the credit union must be notified promptly of a death.³

The credit union may keep honoring checks, items and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act. It may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders it to stop payment.³

The credit union can deposit checks written by the deceased Member if dated before the death. It cannot cash checks payable to the deceased Member; those must be reissued in the successor's name.²

A power of attorney ends at the account owner's death.²

The credit union does not disclose who the P.O.D. beneficiaries are, and does not give balances or statements to a beneficiary.²

On the Disposition of Shares Form the claimant chooses a transfer to their own credit union account or a cashier's check. By signing, the claimant forfeits any dividends accrued after the disbursement.¹