What to do when a Provident account holder dies
Report the death to Provident's Customer Care Center at 1-800-448-7768
After an account holder at Provident dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact Provident's Customer Care Center at 1-800-448-7768 with the proper legal authority documents.
Death claim process
Here is the step-by-step death claim process at Provident:
Filing a claim
- The death certificate or other proof of death
- Your identification
- The document showing your authority: a current Letter Testamentary or Letter of Administration, or your identity as the surviving co-owner or named POD beneficiary
Required Documents
- Death certificate or other proof of the owner's death
- Identification for the person claimingName, address, date of birth, and a driver's license or other identifying documents if requested.
- Current Letter Testamentary or Letter of Administration, executor or administrator; required before opening an Estate Account
- Tax forms and court orders or appointments, joint accounts, if Provident requests them
What happens to each kind of account4
- Joint account with survivorship
The balance belongs to the surviving co-owner, or is shared equally among multiple survivors. Provident may require a death certificate, tax forms, and court orders or appointments before a surviving co-owner can act on the account.1
On notice of the death Provident may freeze the account until it receives documents verifying the death and instructions for the remaining funds, pay items the deceased co-owner authorized before death, return or reverse deposits, and apply the funds to any debt the deceased co-owner owed Provident.1
- Payable-on-death account
Provident pays the named beneficiaries, in equal portions unless the written designation says otherwise, and may first require proof of the owner's death and final settlement of all items. A beneficiary who died before the owner has that share paid to the beneficiary's estate.1
- Account in one name
For an individual account with no POD beneficiary, an executor or administrator acts for the estate. To open an Estate Account at Provident, the executor or administrator must first provide a current Letter Testamentary or Letter of Administration.1
- Certificate of deposit
Provident CDs renew automatically at maturity, with a grace period of ten calendar days after the maturity date to withdraw without penalty.2
Withdrawals before maturity carry an early withdrawal penalty of 90, 180, or 365 days of simple interest depending on the term. Provident's current CD disclosure lists no exception to the penalty for an owner's death.2
State law on paying a balance without lettersNew York, Pennsylvania
- New York
N.Y. SCPA § 1310
New York law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit made under oath, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.N.Y. SCPA § 1310Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: surviving spouse
Limit: $30,000 in total from every holder
When: forthwith
Paid to: surviving spouse, children eighteen or older, either parent, brother or sister, niece or nephew, or at their request a creditor or the person who paid the funeral expense
Limit: $15,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than thirty days after the death
Paid to: a distributee, a creditor, or the person who paid the funeral expenses
Limit: $5,000 held at the institution and $5,000 in total from every holder
When: not less than 6 months after the death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Pennsylvania
20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)
Pennsylvania law directs a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $20,000 held at the institution
When: at any time after the death of a depositor, member or certificate holder
Paid to: the spouse; any child; the father or mother; any sister or brother
The section sets further conditions.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Beacon Trust
Trust and estate administration, offered separately through this Provident Bank subsidiary3
Phone: 1-866-377-8090
What Provident provides to the estate1
- Statement copies
Transaction history can be requested from a branch or the Customer Care Center. Since the September 8, 2026 system upgrade, online banking does not show deposit-account history before January 1, 2026 or loan history from before the upgrade.4
What Provident's agreement and guidance say4
- Telling the institution
Provident's terms require prompt notice when an account owner dies.1
- Payments after the death
Provident may keep honoring checks, items, and instructions issued by the deceased owner until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge.1
Provident may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten calendar days after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment.1
- Powers of attorney
An agent's authority to receive payments, transact on, or change the account generally terminates with the owner's death.1
- Wills, probate and small estates
The agreement is binding on the owner's personal representatives, executors, and administrators.1
Not in Provident's published guidance4
- A claim form
- An online way to report a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Sources4
Provident's Customer Care Center can be reached by phone at 1-800-448-7768 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Provident primary sources (43 pages reviewed). How we research.
Provident death claims support
Customer Care Center
Phone
Hours
Website
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