What to do when a Renasant Bank account holder dies
Contact Renasant Bank's Wealth Management Trust Division (corporate trustee, estate administration and executor services) — 4-step process, 7 required documents, and 5-10 business days for standard claims after all documents are received. a pod account is the fastest path because section 15 makes the funds payable directly to the surviving beneficiaries and outside the estate.
Customer Experience Center
Phone1-877-367-5371
Toll-Free1-877-367-5371
Mortgage Servicing (subserviced by Cenlar)
Lost or Stolen Debit Card (after hours)
Credit Card Assistance
WebsiteLearn more→
Wealth Management Trust Division (corporate trustee, estate administration and executor services)
Phone1-662-680-1285
WebsiteLearn more→
Customer Experience Center (Renasant has no separate estate or death-claims department; deposit account claims are completed at a branch)
Phone1-877-367-5371
Toll-Free1-877-367-5371
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
When a Renasant Bank account holder passes away, the next step depends on how the accounts were set up. Accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer outside of probate. Accounts titled solely in the deceased's name require the estate's legal representative to work with Renasant Bank's Wealth Management Trust Division (corporate trustee, estate administration and executor services) (1-877-367-5371) to access and distribute the funds.
Renasant Bank offers an online claims portal that makes the initial filing process more straightforward. Survivors can also initiate claims by phone.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
The death claim process at Renasant Bank works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Give Renasant ACTUAL written notice of the death, and give it early. The Deposit Account Agreement is built around actual notice, not constructive notice:
- Call the Customer Experience Center at 1-877-367-5371 (Monday-Friday 7 AM - 7 PM CST, Saturday 8 AM - 2 PM CST) or go into a branch with a certified death certificate
- Section 37 states that notice you send Renasant "is not effective until we have received it and have a reasonable opportunity to act on it," and Section 11 says Renasant is entitled to one Business Day to act on a notice of death
- Until that notice lands, an attorney-in-fact under the decedent's power of attorney can keep transacting: Section 11 says the agent's authority terminates only on ACTUAL -- not constructive -- notice of death, and only when that notice reaches the person who originally accepted the power of attorney on Renasant's behalf. The same actual-notice rule ends an authorized signer's authority
2
Settle by how the account is TITLED. Section 20 of the agreement spells out each outcome:
- Single-party account: ownership passes as part of the decedent's estate. Renasant needs Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration -- or, where state law allows, a small-estate affidavit
- Single-party account with a pay-on-death designation: ownership passes to the POD beneficiaries and is NOT part of the estate. Bring the beneficiary's photo ID and the death certificate
- Multiple-party account with right of survivorship: the balance passes to the surviving owner(s), who continue the account. A survivor can still be liable to the decedent's heirs, legatees, or creditors to the extent the funds withdrawn exceeded that survivor's own ownership
- Multiple-party account with right of survivorship AND a POD designation: the POD beneficiaries take only after the LAST surviving party dies
- Trust account: bring the death certificate, the successor trustee's documentation, and an updated Certification of Trust
- IRA: bring the death certificate and beneficiary ID and complete the inherited-IRA or distribution paperwork. An IRA never becomes a trust asset by retitling
3
Expect Renasant to look for money the DECEDENT owed it before it pays anyone:
- Section 4 says the right of setoff "shall continue following your death to the same extent it existed immediately prior to death" and may be enforced against a successor in interest to the funds -- "whether a pay-on-death beneficiary, your estate, or otherwise." A POD beneficiary is not insulated from the decedent's Renasant debt
- The agreement extends that right to federal and state benefit payments, including Social Security, deposited into the account
- You agree to indemnify and hold Renasant harmless from any claim arising out of its exercise of setoff
4
Return everything to your local branch. Renasant publishes no estate department, no estate form, and no estate mailing address -- and P.O. Box 709, Tupelo is the GENERAL COUNSEL address for legal claim notices under Section 53, not a place to send a death certificate
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Valid government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee
- Account information for the deceased (account number, account type)
- For a single-party account with no POD beneficiary: Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court
- Small estate affidavit where the estate falls under the state small-estate threshold and state law allows collection by affidavit
- For trust accounts: successor trustee documentation and an updated Certification of Trust
- For IRA accounts: IRA distribution forms or an inherited IRA application
What to know at this institution
Findings specific to Renasant, all from the Deposit Account Agreement (rev. 8.4.25). (1) There is no post-death check-honoring window in the agreement -- Renasant did not adopt the familiar UCC ten-day rule in its contract text. Instead, everything turns on ACTUAL notice: a power of attorney or authorized signer keeps working until notice of the death actually reaches the person who accepted it on Renasant's behalf, and Renasant gets one Business Day to act on it. Renasant also reserves the right, under Section 27, to pay or dishonor a check more than six months old without prior notice, so old checks the decedent wrote are not automatically dead. (2) Government benefit reversals: Section 1 says that if the federal or state government reverses a direct deposit for any reason, Renasant may deduct all or part of it "without prior notice and without liability," even if that overdraws the account and bounces other items, and without investigating whether the credit was properly payable. A Social Security payment for the month of death is routinely reclaimed this way, so an executor should not spend a post-death benefit deposit. (3) Setoff survives death and reaches POD beneficiaries (Section 4). (4) Disputed claims: under Section 21, if anyone claims ownership of the funds and Renasant has a good-faith doubt, it may hold the balance, interplead it into court, or hold the funds pending a declaratory judgment -- a contested estate can freeze the account rather than settle it. (5) Florida accounts: a husband-and-wife account is held as tenants by the entireties and passes to the surviving spouse on the first death. (6) Fiduciary accounts (Section 18): Renasant is not a fiduciary, will not enforce or monitor the trust or court document, and requires the fiduciary to indemnify the bank against claims by beneficiaries or co-fiduciaries. For an estate that Renasant's Wealth Management Trust Division administers as corporate trustee or executor, call 1-662-680-1285 or email renasantwealth@renasant.com.
Mortgage and home lending
Mortgages and home equity loans are liabilities, not assets. They do not have beneficiaries and cannot be retitled to a trust. When a borrower dies, the loan obligation transfers with the property to whoever inherits it. Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Act, the lender cannot accelerate the loan or call it due when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, or the borrower’s revocable trust.
1
Know who you are actually calling. Renasant mortgages are SUBSERVICED by Cenlar (Central Loan Administration & Reporting) -- the loan is Renasant's, but the servicing shop is not a Renasant branch, so a branch cannot open a successor-in-interest file for you:
- Call mortgage servicing at 877-492-3248
- The servicing portal is https://www.loanadministration.com, reachable from https://www.renasantbank.com/mortgageservicing/
- Give the deceased borrower's full legal name, Social Security number, and loan number
2
Complete the Successor in Interest process:
- Ask the servicing representative for the Successor in Interest documentation package
- Return it with a certified copy of the death certificate and proof of your ownership interest in the property (probated will, court order, recorded deed, or trust document)
- Once confirmed under the CFPB mortgage servicing rules, you are treated as a borrower for account information and loss mitigation, even though you never signed the note
3
Once confirmed, discuss your options:
- Continue making payments
- Apply for loss mitigation
- Assume the loan
- Refinance
- Pay off the balance -- automated payoff quotes: 877-772-9633
4
Keep paying the monthly mortgage during the review. A successor-in-interest review does not pause the loan, and the estate's biggest recurring bill is usually this one
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir or personal representative
- Completed Successor in Interest documentation
- Documentation proving ownership interest in the property (one or more of the following): probated will naming you as heir, court order of succession, recorded deed transferring ownership, trust document showing you as successor trustee or beneficiary
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if going through probate)
- Marriage certificate (if surviving spouse)
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-877-492-3248
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), the lender cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, a child or relative on death, or into the borrower's revocable living trust. Renasant mortgages are subserviced by Cenlar under the Central Loan Administration & Reporting name, which is why the correspondence addresses on the servicing page are New Jersey and South Carolina P.O. boxes, not Tupelo -- do not send a death certificate to a branch and assume it reaches servicing. Servicing phone: 877-492-3248. Automated pay by phone: 866-430-9683. Automated payoff: 877-772-9633. Portal: https://www.loanadministration.com. Escrow and insurance documents go to Central Loan Administration & Reporting, ISAOA, ATIMA, P.O. Box 202028, Florence, SC 29502-2028; payoff requests to Cenlar, Payoff Department, P.O. Box 77406, Ewing, NJ 08628; payments to Cenlar, Payment Processing Center, P.O. Box 11733, Newark, NJ 07101-4733. Renasant publishes no general written-correspondence address for mortgage servicing, so start on the phone.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Renasant Bank
Renasant Bank accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Renasant Bank's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionOpening an account for the estate itself
Checks made out to the estate deposit into an account titled to the estate, opened by the appointed executor or administrator under the estate's EIN.
How to open an estate account at Renasant Bank →Expected timelines at Renasant Bank: 5-10 business days for standard claims after all documents are received. A POD account is the fastest path because Section 15 makes the funds payable directly to the surviving beneficiaries and outside the estate. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Renasant Bank requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Valid government-issued photo ID for the beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee, and Account information for the deceased (account number, account type), and additional documentation depending on the account type. Certified copies are typically needed—photocopies are generally not accepted for death certificates or court documents.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Renasant Corporation completed its merger with The First Bancshares, Inc. (The First Bank) on April 1, 2025, and The First's bank merged INTO Renasant Bank, with Renasant Bank as the surviving entity; system conversion finished in August 2025. Accounts formerly held at The First Bank are now Renasant Bank accounts, so a death claim on one of them is handled by Renasant and is governed by the Renasant Deposit Account Agreement, not by The First's old terms. Call the Renasant Customer Experience Center at 1-877-367-5371 or take a certified death certificate and photo ID into a branch. How the account passes still depends on its titling -- POD, joint with right of survivorship, single-party, or trust.
Yes, and this is the sharpest edge in Renasant's Deposit Account Agreement. Section 4 states that Renasant's right of setoff "shall continue following your death to the same extent it existed immediately prior to death" and may be enforced against a successor in interest to the funds -- "whether a pay-on-death beneficiary, your estate, or otherwise." So an unpaid Renasant loan, credit card, HELOC, or overdraft can reduce what a POD beneficiary actually receives, even though POD funds otherwise pass outside probate. The agreement also extends the right of setoff to federal and state benefit payments, including Social Security, that were deposited into the account, and it requires you to indemnify Renasant against any claim arising from its exercise of setoff. If the decedent banked and borrowed at the same institution, expect the two sides to be netted.
Yes. Section 1 of the Deposit Account Agreement says that if the federal or state government reverses a direct deposit for any reason, you authorize Renasant -- at its option, without prior notice, and without liability -- to deduct all or part of that amount, even if the deduction overdraws the account and causes other items to bounce, and without Renasant investigating whether the credit was properly payable. Social Security routinely reclaims the payment covering the month of death, so an executor who spends a post-death benefit deposit can be left with an overdrawn estate account and dishonored checks. Leave post-death government deposits alone until the agency has reclaimed them.
Section 15 of the Deposit Account Agreement is unusually blunt: on the death of the owner or the surviving owners, all funds in the account are paid "in equal shares to the person or persons then living who are named as beneficiary or beneficiaries," and payment to them fully releases Renasant. Two consequences. First, equal shares is the rule -- a Renasant POD designation is not a percentage-allocation instrument like a brokerage TOD, so if you want an unequal split among your children you need a trust, not a POD. Second, only a beneficiary who is THEN LIVING takes; a beneficiary who predeceases the owner simply drops out and the remaining survivors split the account equally. The share does not pass down to the deceased beneficiary's children. The agreement also confirms the money "will not be inherited by the heirs of the owner(s) of the account or controlled by the will of such owner(s)" -- a will cannot override a Renasant POD designation.
There is no estate form and no estate department. Renasant publishes no downloadable deceased-account or POD form, no estate-services phone line, and no estate claims P.O. box -- deposit account death claims are worked at a branch, with the Customer Experience Center (1-877-367-5371, Monday-Friday 7 AM to 7 PM CST, Saturday 8 AM to 2 PM CST) as the front door. Send written notice and the certified death certificate to the branch that holds the account, not to P.O. Box 709 in Tupelo: that box appears in Section 53 of the Deposit Account Agreement as the GENERAL COUNSEL address for legal claim notices, and paperwork sent there is not an estate notification. Notice is also not effective until Renasant has actually received it and had a reasonable opportunity to act (Section 37), which is why calling to confirm arrival matters -- until the bank has actual notice, the decedent's power of attorney and any authorized signer can still transact on the account.
Renasant Bank's Customer Experience Center (Renasant has no separate estate or death-claims department; deposit account claims are completed at a branch) can be reached by phone at 1-877-367-5371 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Renasant Bank accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Wealth Management Trust Division (corporate trustee, estate administration and executor services) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Renasant Bank primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Experience Center
Phone1-877-367-5371
Toll-Free1-877-367-5371
Mortgage Servicing (subserviced by Cenlar)
Lost or Stolen Debit Card (after hours)
Credit Card Assistance
WebsiteLearn more→
Wealth Management Trust Division (corporate trustee, estate administration and executor services)
Phone1-662-680-1285
WebsiteLearn more→
Customer Experience Center (Renasant has no separate estate or death-claims department; deposit account claims are completed at a branch)
Phone1-877-367-5371
Toll-Free1-877-367-5371
WebsiteNotify online→
Verified Jul 2026
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