What to do when a Pendleton Community Bank account holder dies
Report the death to Pendleton Community Bank's Customer Care Team at 1-866-722-2651
What happens to Pendleton Community Bank accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Pendleton Community Bank's Customer Care Team (1-304-358-2311) to claim the funds.
Claims can be filed by phone (1-304-358-2311) or by emailing documentation to mail@yourbank.com. Before reaching out, gather the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Pendleton Community Bank requires:
Filing a claim
What happens to each kind of account4
- Joint account with survivorship
On a joint account with survivorship, the balance belongs to the surviving owner. When more than one owner survives, they keep holding it together with survivorship.1
- Joint account without survivorship
A joint account opened without survivorship is held as tenants in common, and opening it gives the other owners no survivorship right.1
- Payable-on-death account
On a revocable trust or pay-on-death account, a beneficiary may withdraw only after every owner who created the account has died, and only if the beneficiary is alive then. Two or more surviving beneficiaries share it equally, with no survivorship among them.1
- Fiduciary account
An executor, administrator or conservator acting under a court order may open and keep an account in that role. Holding it does not make the bank a trustee, and the bank takes on no duty to oversee the letters.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersWest Virginia
- West Virginia
W. Va. Code § 44-1-28(c), (d)
West Virginia law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor'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 bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
What Pendleton Community Bank's agreement and guidance say9
- Telling the institution
The terms ask that Pendleton Community Bank be told promptly when anyone with the right to withdraw from an account dies.1
- Payments after the death
For up to ten days after the death, the bank may pay checks written on or before the date of death unless a person claiming an interest in the account orders it to stop.1
An authorized signer's power on an individual account ends when the owner dies, though the bank may keep honoring the signer's transactions until it has written notice or actual knowledge and time to act.1
- Disputes between claimants
If survivors or beneficiaries make a claim against an account that conflicts with another, the bank may hold the funds until a court rules or it is satisfied the dispute is settled.1
- Holds and legal process
When the bank is served with a levy, garnishment, restraining order or similar legal action on an account, it may freeze the account until a court finally decides, and may charge its costs of responding to the account.1
- Debts owed to the institution
The bank may use money in an account, without notice where the law permits, to pay a due debt an owner owes it. It does not do so from an IRA or where the debtor can withdraw only in a representative role.1
- Which state governs the account
The account terms are made subject to federal law and the law of West Virginia.1
- Arbitration
A mandatory arbitration agreement and a class action waiver were added to the deposit agreement, taking effect June 1, 2026 for any customer who did not reject them.2
- Fees
Account research is $30.00 an hour with a one-hour minimum, and paper statements cost $4.00.3
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
An account left inactive for at least two years is charged a $7.00 monthly dormant account fee.3
Not in Pendleton Community Bank's published guidance8
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- A claim form
- A list of required documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
- Which court appointment document it accepts
- An online way to report a death
- How long a claim takes
- A small-estate procedure
Sources3
- 1.Terms and Conditions of Your Account, TC-WV 6/1/2023
- 2.Important Change in Terms
- 3.Disclosures and Fee Schedule, effective June 1, 2026
Pendleton Community Bank's Customer Care Team can be reached by phone at 1-866-722-2651 and email at mail@yourbank.com for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(2)·
Data sourced from Pendleton Community Bank primary sources (20 pages reviewed). How we research.
Pendleton Community Bank death claims support
Customer Care Team
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Forms for Settling an Estate
Free forms for settling an estate: probate petition, small estate affidavit, creditor notice and closing forms. Prepare each form for your state.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor named in a will — the writing filed with the court before anyone is appointed.
Tools for Settling an Estate
Free tools for settling an estate: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool for your state.
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