What to do when a Tompkins Bank & Trust account holder dies
Report the death to Tompkins Bank & Trust's Customer Care Center at 1-888-273-3210
What happens to Tompkins Bank & 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 Tompkins Bank & Trust's Customer Care Center (1-888-273-3210) to claim the funds.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Tompkins Bank & Trust:
Filing a claim
What happens to each kind of account3
- Fiduciary account
Tompkins offers Estate Checking for people who need to hold an estate's money and pay and settle its accounts from one place. It has no monthly maintenance fee, no minimum balance and no early closure fee.1
- Health savings account
When a Tompkins HSA owner has named no beneficiary in the HSA Portal, the HSA goes to the owner's estate.2
- Loan
On an Equilock home equity line of credit, the death of everyone who owes on the line is one of the events that lets Tompkins end the line and ask for the whole balance at once.3
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
- Tompkins Financial Advisors, Trusts and Estates
Estate administration and the probate process for estates it administers, and trust administration4, 5, 6
Phone: 1-800-274-4003
What Tompkins Bank & Trust's agreement and guidance say2
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
A checking or money market account with no activity for 365 days is charged a dormant fee of $8.00 a month, and a savings account after 730 days; the savings and money market dormant fee does not apply in the New York markets.7
Not in Tompkins Bank & Trust's published guidance10
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- A claim form
- A list of required documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
- Which court appointment document it accepts
- An online way to report a death
- How long a claim takes
- A small-estate procedure
- Deposit account agreement
Sources7
- 1.Estate Checking
- 2.Tompkins HSA Consumer Portal Guide, Updated 4/1/22
- 3.Home Equity Application Disclosures
- 4.Trusts and Estates Administration (Tompkins Financial Advisors)
- 5.Contact Us (Tompkins Financial Advisors)
- 6.Contact Us
- 7.Schedule of Fees, Schedule of Fees 06/2026
Tompkins Bank & Trust's Customer Care Center can be reached by phone at 1-888-273-3210 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(4)·
Data sourced from Tompkins Bank & Trust primary sources (44 pages reviewed). How we research.
Tompkins Bank & Trust death claims support
Customer Care Center
Phone
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your Tompkins Bank & Trust accounts and other assets with trusts, beneficiary designations, and estate planning documents.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
Forms for Settling an Estate
Free forms for settling an estate: probate petition, small estate affidavit, creditor notice and closing forms. Prepare each form for your state.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor named in a will — the writing filed with the court before anyone is appointed.
Tools for Settling an Estate
Free tools for settling an estate: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool for your state.
How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?
Calculate how many certified death certificates you need and see ordering info for your state.
Do I Need Probate?
Find out if an estate needs probate or qualifies for simplified procedures.
What Happens to Jointly Owned Property When an Owner Dies?
See what your state records when a joint tenant with right of survivorship dies: an affidavit, the death certificate or a new deed.
Do I Have to File Tax Returns for Someone Who Died?
Find out which tax returns need to be filed after someone dies and whether tax clearance is required.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Personalized plan for settling an estate after someone passes away.
What Do I Do When Someone Dies?
A step-by-step checklist for the days, weeks, and months after a death, with state rules noted where they apply.
