What to do when a Trumark account holder dies
Report the death to Trumark's Member Service Center at 1-877-878-6275
When a member of Trumark passes away, the Member Service Center 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.
The first step is contacting Trumark at 1-877-878-6275 with the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate in hand.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Trumark:
Filing a claim
Required Documents
- Proof of appointment as executor or administrator (letters or court order), to open an Estate Account
What happens to each kind of account4
- Joint account with survivorship
On a joint account with survivorship, the balance belongs to the survivor or survivors, subject to any previous pledge Trumark agreed to.1
- Payable-on-death account
On a Revocable Trust Account (a tentative trust), the beneficiaries living when all persons who created the account have died take the account, in equal shares without right of survivorship.1
- Custodial account (UTMA/UGMA)
On a UTMA custodial account, the funds belong to the child, and the custodian is responsible for distributing them upon the minor's death.1
- Fiduciary account
The agreement allows accounts to be opened and maintained by executors, administrators, or conservators under court orders, and says Trumark does not monitor or enforce the terms of the letters.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersPennsylvania
- Pennsylvania
20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b)
Pennsylvania law directs a credit union to pay from a deceased member'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 elsewhere2
What Trumark's agreement and guidance say6
- Telling the institution
The Membership and Account Agreement requires prompt notice when any person with a right to withdraw funds from an account dies.1
- What it does when notified
Trumark may continue to honor checks, items, and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge.1
- Payments after the death
Trumark may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after the death, unless ordered to stop payment by someone claiming an interest in the account.1
- Powers of attorney
A power of attorney continues until the member's death. Trumark may continue to honor the agent's transactions until it has written notice or actual knowledge of the death and a reasonable opportunity to act.1
- Debts owed to the institution
The agreement lets Trumark charge against and deduct from an account any due and payable debt an owner owes it, and it may also hold a statutory lien.1
Neither right applies to an IRA or similar tax-deferred account, to debt created by a consumer credit transaction under a credit card plan (except under a consensual security interest), or where the right of withdrawal arises only in a representative capacity.1
- Membership
The agreement requires members to purchase and maintain at least one share.1
Not in Trumark's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
- Executor membership requirement
Frequently asked questions
Trumark offers a tentative trust account, one of its specialty savings accounts, which names a beneficiary while the owner keeps full access to and control of the account during life. Specialty savings accounts are opened in person at a Trumark branch, and 1-877-TRUMARK (1-877-878-6275) assists. Under the Membership and Account Agreement's Revocable Trust Account rules, beneficiaries cannot withdraw until all persons who created the account have died, two or more surviving beneficiaries take equal shares without right of survivorship, and the owners may change beneficiaries, change account types, or withdraw the funds at any time. Trumark publishes no downloadable beneficiary form.
Pennsylvania law provides a route. Under 20 Pa.C.S. § 3101(b), a credit union shall pay the amount on deposit to the spouse, any child, the father or mother, or any sister or brother (preference in that order) when the total standing to the credit of the decedent in that credit union does not exceed $20,000, provided that a receipted funeral bill, or an affidavit executed by a licensed funeral director setting forth that satisfactory arrangements for payment of funeral services have been made, is presented. The person paid is answerable to anyone prejudiced by an improper distribution. Trumark's own Estate Account is for legally appointed executors.
The Death or Incompetence clause of Trumark's Membership and Account Agreement requires prompt notice when any person with a right to withdraw funds dies. Trumark may keep honoring checks, items, and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act, and it may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten (10) days after the death unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment. The agreement also lets Trumark deduct a due and payable debt owed to it from an account, but that right does not apply to an IRA, to credit card plan debt (except under a consensual security interest), or where the right of withdrawal arises only in a representative capacity.
Yes, by law. Under Tax Reform Code § 2147 (72 P.S. § 9147), when money is deposited in the names of two or more persons other than husband and wife, or in the name of a person in trust for another, the financial institution must notify the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue within ten days after knowledge of the death, giving the balance at the date of death and the names and addresses of the survivors. No notice is required when the deposit at death does not exceed $300. A surviving joint owner is taxed on a fractional portion found by dividing the account by the number of joint owners immediately before the death (§ 2108(a)). The Department of Revenue lists the rates as 0 percent to a surviving spouse or to a parent from a child aged 21 or younger, 4.5 percent to direct descendants and lineal heirs, 12 percent to siblings, and 15 percent to other heirs; the tax becomes delinquent nine months after the death, with a 5 percent discount for payment within three months.
Trumark's Member Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-877-878-6275 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from Trumark primary sources (34 pages reviewed). How we research.
Trumark death claims support
Member Service Center (Estate Accounts)
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