What to do when a Rockland Trust account holder dies
Contact Rockland Trust's Rockland Trust Investment Management Group (estate settlement, professional probate administration, personal representative of estates, trustee / co-trustee / agent for trustee) — 7-step process, 7 required documents, and varies by titling. a named totten-trust beneficiary or a surviving joint owner presenting a certified death certificate and photo id is generally the fastest path. a probate-dependent claim waits on the probate and family court issuing letters, or on the thirty-day waiting period before a massachusetts voluntary administration statement can be filed under mass. gen. laws ch. 190b, 3-1201.
Customer Information Center
Rockland Trust, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
Rockland Trust Investment Management Group (estate settlement, professional probate administration, personal representative of estates, trustee / co-trustee / agent for trustee)
Rockland Trust, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
Customer Information Center / Deposit Services
Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
What happens to Rockland Trust 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 Rockland Trust's Customer Information Center / Deposit Services (508-732-7072) to claim the funds.
Death claims at Rockland Trust can be started through an online portal, which streamlines the initial notification and document upload. Phone and mail options are also available.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
The death claim process at Rockland Trust works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Call the Customer Information Center at 508.732.7072 (Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Saturday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Sunday 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ET), or visit any branch
- Give the decedent's full name, every known account number, and the date of death
- Section 10 (Death or Incompetence) of the Personal Deposit Account Agreement provides that the bank may continue to accept, pay, or collect items until it knows of the death, and that EVEN AFTER it knows, it may for ten (10) days after the date of death pay debit transactions initiated or drawn on or before the date of death unless it is ordered to stop payment
- The agreement's stop-payment procedure for preauthorized payments requires the request to reach Rockland Trust at least three (3) Business Days before the payment is scheduled: call 508.732.7072 or write to Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
- If you call, the bank may require the request in writing within fourteen (14) days after the call — send the written confirmation, do not rely on the phone call alone
- A stop payment placed in a branch or over the phone and not confirmed in writing is valid for only fourteen (14) calendar days; confirmed in writing within that window, it is valid for six (6) months and can be renewed
- Unwritten ("Totten") trust deposit account: on the death of the trustee (or of both trustees), the agreement gives all the funds in EQUAL shares to the then-living named beneficiaries or their legal representatives. This money is not inherited by the heirs and is not controlled by the will. The named beneficiary claims directly with the death certificate and ID.
- Joint deposit account: Rockland Trust states the joint deposit accounts it offers are with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common, so on the death of one owner the funds belong to the surviving owner(s). The survivor presents the death certificate to have the account updated.
- Written-trust deposit account: the successor trustee presents the certification of trust (or trust agreement) showing successor-trustee authority, the death certificate, and trustee ID.
- Individually titled account with no beneficiary and no joint owner: this is a probate asset. The Personal Representative presents Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court.
- IRA CD: the account passes by its IRA beneficiary designation, not by the deposit-account designation and not by the will. The named beneficiary presents the death certificate and ID and completes the bank's inherited-IRA or distribution paperwork.
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (beneficiary, surviving joint owner, trustee, or Personal Representative)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for an individually titled account with no death beneficiary and no surviving joint owner
- Massachusetts voluntary administration statement under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, 3-1201, where the estate is entirely personal property valued at $25,000 or less plus one motor vehicle (filed at least thirty days after death) — accepted in place of Letters for a qualifying small estate
- Certification of trust or trust agreement evidencing successor-trustee authority, for a written-trust deposit account
- Inherited IRA / distribution election paperwork from the branch, for an IRA CD
- Written stop-payment instruction for preauthorized debits (mail to Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370, or confirm a phone request in writing within fourteen days)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Rockland Trust does not publish a deceased-account claim form or an online claims portal — the process is phone-first (508.732.7072) and branch-completed, with written notice to Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370. The bank-specific facts that change what a survivor should do: (1) Section 10 (Death or Incompetence) of the Personal Deposit Account Agreement lets Rockland Trust continue accepting, paying, and collecting items until it knows of the death, and even after it knows, it may for ten (10) days after the date of death pay debit transactions initiated or drawn on or before the date of death unless ordered to stop payment — so the stop-payment request is urgent, not clerical. (2) The stop-payment procedure for preauthorized payments requires the request to reach the bank three (3) Business Days before the payment; a phone request may have to be confirmed in writing within fourteen (14) days, and an unconfirmed stop payment is valid only fourteen calendar days (six months if confirmed in writing). (3) Rockland Trust's death-beneficiary deposit account is an unwritten ("Totten") trust deposit account, not a percentage-allocated POD account: on the death of the trustee or of both trustees, the funds are owned in EQUAL shares by the then-living named beneficiaries or their legal representatives, are not inherited by the heirs, and are not controlled by the will — and the bank has no obligation to notify a beneficiary that the account exists. (4) Joint deposit accounts are offered with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common, so they pass to the surviving owner(s) outside probate. (5) A written-trust deposit account rests on a certification of trust, all beneficiaries must be natural persons, and the bank has no duty to monitor the trustee's acts. (6) Massachusetts voluntary administration (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, 3-1201) is the small-estate route for an estate of personal property valued at $25,000 or less plus one motor vehicle, filed at least thirty days after death. (7) FDIC coverage does not collapse the day a co-owner dies: under 12 C.F.R. 330.3(j) the death of a deposit owner does not affect insurance coverage for six (6) months following the death unless the account is restructured. (8) Former Enterprise Bank accounts are Rockland Trust accounts today — the legal closing was effective July 1, 2025 and accounts converted October 14, 2025, so a claim on an Enterprise Bank account is filed here. (9) For estates that need a professional fiduciary, the Rockland Trust Investment Management Group provides estate settlement and professional probate administration and serves as personal representative of estates, as well as trustee, co-trustee, and agent for trustee. (10) A Rockland Trust mortgage or home equity line is a debt of the estate and is handled separately by Mortgage Loan Servicing (508.732.7072; Rockland Trust Loan Servicing, P.O. Box 32, Middleboro, MA 02346-0032), never through the deposit-account claim.
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.
- Call 508.732.7072 (Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.; Saturday 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Sunday 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. ET)
- Write to Rockland Trust Loan Servicing, P.O. Box 32, Middleboro, MA 02346-0032
- Give the borrower's name, loan number, property address, and date of death
- A recorded deed showing joint tenancy or survivorship
- The trust instrument, if the property was titled in the decedent's revocable living trust
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court (or the equivalent New Hampshire or Rhode Island court), if the property passes through probate
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the successor in interest
- Proof of ownership interest in the property (recorded deed, trust instrument, or probate court appointment)
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, if the property is a probate asset
- Marriage certificate, if claiming as a surviving spouse
Claims Contact
Phone: 508-732-7072
Rockland Trust Loan Servicing, P.O. Box 32, Middleboro, MA 02346-0032
What to know at this institution
The mortgage is a claim against the estate, so it is settled on the debt side of the ledger — it is never claimed through the deposit-account death claim process. Do not assume a POD or trust designation on the decedent's checking account reaches the mortgage: those funds leave the estate outside probate and are not automatically available to keep the loan current. Under Garn-St. Germain (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), the transfer of the home to a surviving relative who occupies it, to a joint owner, or into the borrower's revocable living trust does not trigger acceleration.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Rockland Trust
Rockland Trust accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Rockland Trust'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 Rockland Trust →Expected timelines at Rockland Trust: Varies by titling. A named Totten-trust beneficiary or a surviving joint owner presenting a certified death certificate and photo ID is generally the fastest path. A probate-dependent claim waits on the Probate and Family Court issuing Letters, or on the thirty-day waiting period before a Massachusetts voluntary administration statement can be filed under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, 3-1201. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Rockland Trust requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (beneficiary, surviving joint owner, trustee, or Personal Representative), and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration, for an individually titled account with no death beneficiary and no surviving joint owner, 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. Enterprise Bank and Trust Company merged into Rockland Trust Company at a legal closing effective July 1, 2025, and customer accounts fully transitioned to Rockland Trust on October 14, 2025. All former Enterprise Bank branches now operate as Rockland Trust locations, and the routing number on those accounts is now 011304478. An account statement still headed "Enterprise Bank," or an old Enterprise Bank checkbook found among a decedent's papers, is a Rockland Trust account today. Existing beneficiary designations and trust titling carried over. Call the Rockland Trust Customer Information Center at 508.732.7072, or write to Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370.
Probably yes, and it is worth understanding why so you can stop the next one. Section 10 (Death or Incompetence) of the Rockland Trust Personal Deposit Account Agreement provides that the bank may continue to accept, pay, or collect items until it knows of the account owner's death, and that even after it knows of the death it may, for ten (10) days after the date of death, pay debit transactions initiated or drawn on or before the date of death unless it is ordered to stop payment. To stop preauthorized payments, the agreement requires the request to reach the bank at least three (3) Business Days before the payment is scheduled: call 508.732.7072 or write to Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370. If you call, the bank may require the request in writing within fourteen (14) days — an unconfirmed phone stop payment is good for only fourteen calendar days, while one confirmed in writing lasts six months.
Not necessarily. Massachusetts voluntary administration under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, 3-1201 lets a voluntary personal representative file a sworn statement, at least thirty (30) days after death, where the estate consists entirely of personal property valued at $25,000 or less plus one motor vehicle. That statement is what you present to Rockland Trust in place of Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. Before you go down that road, check how the account is titled: a joint account passes to the surviving owner by right of survivorship, and an account with a named death beneficiary (what Rockland Trust's deposit agreement calls an unwritten or "Totten" trust deposit account) passes in equal shares to the then-living named beneficiaries, outside the will — neither requires probate or a voluntary administration filing at all.
Rockland Trust's Customer Information Center / Deposit Services can be reached by phone at 508-732-7072 for questions throughout the claims process.
When the deceased had multiple Rockland Trust accounts, some may need separate claims while others can be handled together. The Customer Information Center / Deposit Services can clarify what's needed for each account type.
Sources
Data sourced from Rockland Trust primary sources (15 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Information Center
Rockland Trust, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
Rockland Trust Investment Management Group (estate settlement, professional probate administration, personal representative of estates, trustee / co-trustee / agent for trustee)
Rockland Trust, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
Customer Information Center / Deposit Services
Rockland Trust, ATTN: Deposit Services, 288 Union Street, Rockland, MA 02370
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