What to do when a Santander account holder dies
Contact Santander — 5-step process, 5 required documents, and pod/itf beneficiaries may receive funds upon presenting death certificate and id at a branch. non-pod accounts require probate documentation, which may take several weeks to process.
Customer Service Center (Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm ET)
Santander Bank, 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
Customer Service Center (Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm ET)
Santander Bank, 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
Death Claims / Estate Processing
Santander Bank, N.A., P.O. Box 12646, Reading, PA 19612
When an account holder at Santander 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 Santander's Death Claims / Estate Processing (1-877-768-2265) to access and distribute the funds.
To start, call Santander at 1-877-768-2265. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate ready before you call.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
The death claim process at Santander works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Certified death certificate (original required; bank will mail it back after processing)
- Valid government-issued ID for the claimant
- POD/ITF accounts: beneficiaries present death certificate and ID at a branch to request distribution
- Non-POD accounts: executor or administrator provides Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- Trust-owned accounts: successor trustee provides death certificate, trust documents, and trustee ID
- Joint accounts with right of survivorship: surviving owner provides death certificate and notarized letter to remove the deceased owner's name
Required Documents
- Certified death certificate (original required; bank will mail back after processing)
- Valid government-issued ID for claimant
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if no POD/ITF designation)
- Trust documents and successor trustee identification (if trust-owned account)
- Notarized letter requesting removal of deceased owner (for joint account name removal)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
Per the Personal Deposit Account Agreement ("Death of a Joint Account Owner"), on the death of a joint owner the funds belong to the surviving joint owner, and on the death of the last surviving owner the personal representative may withdraw the funds -- but "if applicable state law requires additional acts or documents, we will not release any funds in the Account until those requirements are satisfied." In Santander's Northeast footprint this can mean a state inheritance-tax waiver before funds are released (for example, a New Jersey Form L-8 self-executing waiver for a Class A beneficiary). Bring any required state waiver with the death certificate to avoid a hold. For informal trust (ITF/Totten) accounts, after the death of the last surviving trustee Santander distributes the balance to the surviving beneficiaries on a beneficiary's request and closes the account; if all beneficiaries are present at a branch each is paid an equal share, otherwise a check payable to all beneficiaries as tenants in common is issued to one of them. If no beneficiary claims the funds, the account will be deemed abandoned and escheated to the state under applicable state law. Santander is not obligated to notify beneficiaries of a trustee's death or the existence of the account. For Santander Investment Services accounts (IRA, brokerage), contact 1-866-736-6475 separately. For existing Santander mortgage loans, contact the Mortgage Servicing Department at 1-855-241-5700 (8am-5pm ET, Monday-Friday).
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.
- Deceased borrower's full legal name, Social Security number, and mortgage loan number
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Request the Successor in Interest documentation package from the mortgage servicing representative
- Complete and return the documentation with proof of your ownership interest in the property (e.g., probated will, court order, recorded deed, or trust document)
- Santander will review your documentation and confirm your status under CFPB mortgage servicing rules
- Continue making payments
- Apply for loss mitigation or financial hardship assistance
- Assume the loan
- Refinance with another lender
- Pay off the balance
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: 1-855-241-5700
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3), Santander Bank cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause when the property transfers to a surviving spouse, child, relative upon death, or the borrower's revocable living trust. Confirmed Successors in Interest are treated as borrowers under CFPB mortgage servicing rules and are entitled to account information and loss mitigation options. Santander is no longer originating new mortgages but continues to service existing loans. Customer Service Center: 1-855-241-5699. General customer service: 1-877-768-2265.
Prepare your letter of instruction to Santander
Santander accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to Santander'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 Santander →Expected timelines at Santander: POD/ITF beneficiaries may receive funds upon presenting death certificate and ID at a branch. Non-POD accounts require probate documentation, which may take several weeks to process. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
Santander requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified death certificate (original required; bank will mail back after processing), Valid government-issued ID for claimant, and Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if no POD/ITF designation), 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
An informal trust account (ITF - In Trust For) at Santander is a simple beneficiary designation: the account owner deposits funds in trust for named beneficiaries, retains full control during their lifetime, and beneficiaries receive the balance upon the owner's death without probate. It does not require a formal trust document. By contrast, retitling a deposit account to a revocable living trust makes the trust the legal owner, which requires opening a new trust account in branch with the trust document or Certificate of Trust, the trust EIN, and trustee ID. Both approaches avoid probate on the deposit account; the informal ITF is simpler to set up, while a trust-titled account integrates into a comprehensive trust-based estate plan.
For joint accounts with right of survivorship (WROS), the surviving owner automatically becomes the sole owner of the full balance. The surviving owner should notify Santander at 1-877-768-2265 or visit a branch with the certified death certificate and a notarized letter requesting removal of the deceased owner's name. Santander will mail a new signature card to sign and return. The account does not go through probate. For joint accounts that are not WROS (tenants in common), the deceased's share passes through their estate per their will or state intestacy law.
When a sole account owner dies with no POD or ITF designation and no surviving joint owner, the account becomes part of the deceased's probate estate. The estate's executor or administrator must obtain Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration from the probate court. Those letters, along with the certified death certificate and the representative's government-issued ID, are presented to Santander (in branch or by mail to P.O. Box 12646, Reading, PA 19612) to establish authority to access and close the account. If the account is unclaimed, it will eventually escheat to the state under applicable abandoned property law.
No. Santander Bank, N.A. is the deposit and mortgage bank described on this page. An auto loan or lease is held by Santander Consumer USA Inc., a separate company. Both are subsidiaries of Spain-based Banco Santander, but they run different accounts, phone lines, and estate processes: a deceased depositor's checking, savings, CD, or IRA is settled through Santander Bank, while a deceased borrower's vehicle loan or lease is settled through Santander Consumer USA. Confirm which entity is named on the statement, because notifying one does not reach the other.
Santander's Death Claims / Estate Processing can be reached by phone at 1-877-768-2265 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple Santander accounts, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The Death Claims / Estate Processing can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from Santander primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
Customer Service Center (Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm ET)
Santander Bank, 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
Customer Service Center (Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm ET)
Santander Bank, 75 State Street, Boston, MA 02109
Death Claims / Estate Processing
Santander Bank, N.A., P.O. Box 12646, Reading, PA 19612
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