What to do when a Redstone FCU account holder dies
Contact Redstone FCU's Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU), through LPL Financial - investment and IRA accounts — 9-step process, 9 required documents, and pod and joint accounts are processed once the death certificate and identification are verified; estate accounts vary with probate or small-estate requirements, and redstone need not permit any withdrawal from a fiduciary account until it has every document it asked for.
Member Support
Phone256-837-6110
Toll-Free1-800-234-1234
Emailinfo@redfcu.org
Fax256-722-3655
Mailing Address
Redstone Federal Credit Union, 220 Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35893-0001
WebsiteLearn more→
Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU), through LPL Financial - investment and IRA accounts
Phone1-800-234-1234
WebsiteLearn more→
Member Support Services (deceased member accounts); Mortgage Loan Servicing handles Successor in Interest requests on Redstone mortgages
Phone256-837-6110
Toll-Free1-800-234-1234
Emailinfo@redfcu.org
Fax256-722-3655
Mailing Address
Redstone Federal Credit Union, Attn: Member Support Services, 220 Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35893-0001
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a Redstone FCU member passes away, the Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU), through LPL Financial - investment and IRA accounts handles the transition of accounts to beneficiaries or the estate. Accounts with Payable on Death designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate, while solely-owned accounts may require Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
Redstone FCU provides an online portal for initiating death claims, which can simplify the initial notification and document submission process. Claims can also be started by phone or by mailing the required documents.
Death claim process
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what Redstone FCU requires:
Filing a claim
1
Notify Redstone immediately by calling Member Support at 256-837-6110 (Huntsville area) or 1-800-234-1234, press "0", or by visiting any branch. The Membership Agreement makes notice the member's obligation and says Redstone may keep accepting, paying, and collecting items on the account until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act.
2
Stop the decedent's outstanding checks IN WRITING. Even after Redstone knows of the death, the Membership Agreement lets it pay or guarantee, for TEN (10) DAYS after the date of death, checks the decedent drew on or before that date - unless a person claiming an interest in the account orders it in writing to stop payment.
3
Expect government benefit deposits to be clawed back. Redstone agrees to honor a demand from a depositor such as a government agency to return sums direct-deposited to the account during the month of, or after, the death - and may debit the account for everything it returns. Do not spend a Social Security or VA payment that landed on or after the date of death.
4
Download the Survivor's Guide at https://www.redfcu.org/content/dam/rfcu/pdfs/SurvivorsGuide.pdf (also available at any branch) - it lists the documents to gather and walks through Social Security, VA, and SGLI survivor benefits.
5
Present documents based on how the account passes:
- POD (Payable on Death) accounts: each named beneficiary presents a certified death certificate and government-issued photo ID. The balance is divided by the number of POD beneficiaries into equal shares, each owned with NO right of survivorship among them. POD does not apply to IRAs, which pass under their own IRA beneficiary designation.
- Joint accounts: the surviving owner presents a certified death certificate. If the PRIMARY owner died and joint owners remain, the account is CLOSED and the survivors must open a new account under a new account number - any POD designation on the old account is void and must be re-made on the new one.
- No POD beneficiary and no surviving joint owner: the account passes to the estate. The estate representative presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, or - for a qualifying Alabama estate - a summary distribution order under the Revised Alabama Small Estates Act.
6
Provide the estate's or successor's taxpayer identification number (TIN). Until it has one, Redstone may refuse to pay dividends earned on the account since the date of death, or withhold a portion of them.
7
Open the estate account as a fiduciary account. Redstone can require any documents it deems necessary to satisfy itself the fiduciary is authorized, and does not have to permit ANY withdrawal until it receives all requested documents. Only the fiduciary may be named - no joint owners and no beneficiaries can be added to a fiduciary account, and funds in it cannot be pledged as collateral. An Estate Representative can be removed from the account once at no charge; adding the same Estate Representative back within six months can trigger the Remove Joint Fee.
8
Expect Redstone to net out what the decedent owed it. After the death of any account owner it can set off the deceased owner's debts against a joint or POD account, up to the full balance at the date of death, and the surviving joint owner's interest stays subject to that setoff and to any security interest the deceased granted - even if the survivor never consented. The agreement extends the setoff to deposited government benefit funds (Social Security and other public benefits) to the maximum extent state and federal law permit. IRAs are carved out: Redstone will not set off against an IRA or similar tax-deferred account.
9
For a Redstone MORTGAGE, run the separate Successor in Interest track: mail a written confirmation request to Redstone Federal Credit Union, Attn: Mortgage Loan Servicing, 220 Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35893, with your name, a copy of your unexpired government photo ID, your SSN, your address, the loan account number, a description of the ownership-interest transfer, and supporting documents (death certificate, will and letters testamentary, trust documents, or an affidavit of heirship). Send copies of the complete documents, never originals. Checklist: https://www.redfcu.org/content/dam/rfcu/pdfs/forms/Successor_In_Interest_Checklist.pdf
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate (the Survivor's Guide recommends ordering at least 10 copies)
- Government-issued photo ID for each claimant, surviving joint owner, or estate representative
- Estate's or successor's taxpayer identification number (TIN)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (when there is no POD beneficiary or surviving joint owner)
- Alabama summary distribution order for a qualifying small estate - under Act 2025-431 (effective October 1, 2025) the small estate amount equals the combined homestead allowance, exempt property, and family allowance, which the Alabama Department of Finance set at $47,000 in its January 6, 2026 memorandum to probate judges ($18,800 homestead + $18,800 exempt property + $9,400 family allowance); Madison County estates file in the Madison County Probate Court
- Tennessee small-estate affidavit for a qualifying Tennessee estate
- Certification of Trust or the trust document (if a trust is named as beneficiary or account owner)
- Written stop-payment instruction, if the decedent left checks outstanding
- For a Redstone mortgage: written Successor in Interest confirmation request with ID, SSN, loan number, and proof of the ownership transfer
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Three clauses in the Membership Agreement drive settlement at Redstone and are easy to miss. (1) The ten-day window: even once it knows of the death, Redstone may for ten days after the date of death pay or guarantee checks the decedent drew on or before that date, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment in WRITING. (2) Benefit reversal: if a government agency demands the return of funds direct-deposited during the month of or after the death, Redstone must honor the demand and may debit the account for the full amount returned. (3) Setoff: after any owner's death it can set off the deceased's debts against a joint or POD account up to the full balance at death, expressly including deposited Social Security and other public benefit funds to the maximum extent law allows - though never against an IRA. POD shares are equal and carry no right of survivorship among beneficiaries; a POD designation on a joint account is void once a joint owner survives. Estate (fiduciary) accounts may name only the representative - no joint owners, no beneficiaries. Investment accounts held through LPL Financial run a separate claims process through Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU); reach an advisor at https://www.redfcu.org/personal/investing/meet-the-investment-team/.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Redstone FCU
Redstone FCU accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Redstone FCU's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionExpected timelines at Redstone FCU: POD and joint accounts are processed once the death certificate and identification are verified; estate accounts vary with probate or small-estate requirements, and Redstone need not permit any withdrawal from a fiduciary account until it has every document it asked for. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Documentation required by Redstone FCU includes Certified death certificate (the Survivor's Guide recommends ordering at least 10 copies), Government-issued photo ID for each claimant, surviving joint owner, or estate representative, and Estate's or successor's taxpayer identification number (TIN), along with additional paperwork that varies by account type. All death certificates and court documents must be certified copies.
Frequently asked questions
Up to ten days. The Membership Agreement says the credit union may keep accepting, paying, and collecting items until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge - and that even WITH knowledge of the death, it may for ten (10) days after the date of death pay or guarantee checks the member drew on or before that date. The one thing that stops it is a written stop-payment order from a person claiming an interest in the account. If the estate cannot afford to have those checks clear, put the stop-payment instruction in writing at a branch or in the letter you mail to Member Support Services rather than relying on a phone call.
Yes, and the estate can be left short. Under the Membership Agreement you agree that if a depositor such as a government agency demands the return of any sums direct-deposited to the account during the month of, or after, the death of an account holder, Redstone must honor that demand and may debit the account for everything it returns. Redstone also expressly extends its right of setoff to deposited government benefit funds, including Social Security and other public benefits, to the maximum extent state and federal law allow. Executors should leave any benefit payment that landed on or after the date of death untouched until the agency has reclaimed it.
Funds in a Payable on Death (POD) account pass to the designated beneficiaries once they present a certified death certificate and government-issued photo ID. If several POD beneficiaries are named, the balance is divided by the number of beneficiaries into equal shares, and each owns their share with no right of survivorship among them - a predeceased beneficiary's share does not roll to the others. Under the Membership Agreement, Redstone can first exercise its right of setoff against a joint or POD account for debts the deceased owed the credit union, up to the full balance at the date of death, before releasing the remainder. A POD designation on a JOINT account is void once a joint owner survives: the account is closed, the survivor opens a new account under a new number, and any POD payees must be named again. POD does not apply to IRAs, which pass under a separate IRA beneficiary designation.
Redstone FCU's Member Support Services (deceased member accounts); Mortgage Loan Servicing handles Successor in Interest requests on Redstone mortgages can be reached by phone at 1-800-234-1234, email at info@redfcu.org, and fax at 256-722-3655 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Redstone FCU accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU), through LPL Financial - investment and IRA accounts can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Redstone FCU primary sources (24 pages reviewed). How we research.
Member Support
Phone256-837-6110
Toll-Free1-800-234-1234
Emailinfo@redfcu.org
Fax256-722-3655
Mailing Address
Redstone Federal Credit Union, 220 Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35893-0001
WebsiteLearn more→
Wealth Management at Redstone Federal Credit Union (WMRFCU), through LPL Financial - investment and IRA accounts
Phone1-800-234-1234
WebsiteLearn more→
Member Support Services (deceased member accounts); Mortgage Loan Servicing handles Successor in Interest requests on Redstone mortgages
Phone256-837-6110
Toll-Free1-800-234-1234
Emailinfo@redfcu.org
Fax256-722-3655
Mailing Address
Redstone Federal Credit Union, Attn: Member Support Services, 220 Wynn Drive, Huntsville, AL 35893-0001
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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