What to do when a TrustCo Bank account holder dies
Report the death to TrustCo Bank's Customer Service at 1-800-670-3110
When an account holder at TrustCo Bank 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 TrustCo Bank's Customer Service (1-518-377-3311) to access and distribute the funds.
To start, call TrustCo Bank at 1-518-377-3311. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate ready before you call.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
The death claim process at TrustCo Bank works as follows:
Filing a claim
State law on paying a balance without lettersFlorida, Massachusetts, New York
- Florida
Fla. Stat. § 735.303
Florida 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.Fla. Stat. § 735.303Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: family member (surviving spouse; else adult child; else adult descendant; else parent)
Limit: $2,000 held at the institution and $2,000 in total from every holder
When: not earlier than 6 months after the date of the decedent’s death
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Massachusetts
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 167D, § 12
Massachusetts law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 167D, § 12Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $10,000 held at the institution
When: after the expiration of 30 days from the death of such depositor
Paid to: the surviving spouse of said deceased depositor; if there be no surviving spouse, the next of kin of such deceased (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- 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.
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- TrustCo Wealth Management
Estates and personal trusts where it is named executor or trustee1, 2
Phone: 1-518-381-3643
Not in TrustCo Bank's published guidance5
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- A list of required documents
- Bereavement page
- Deposit account agreement
Sources2
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.
Federal law on calling a home loan after a death
These exemptions apply to a loan secured by residential real property containing less than five dwelling units.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d); 12 CFR 191.5(b), 141.14Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(3); 12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(iii)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(5)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
- A lender may not exercise a due-on-sale clause upon a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner of the property.12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3(d)(6)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
A federal regulation sets further conditions on these transfers.12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(v)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Not in TrustCo Bank's published guidance3
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A list of required documents
- How long a claim takes
Not in TrustCo Bank's published guidance3
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A list of required documents
- How long a claim takes
Frequently asked questions
Possibly not. New York Surrogate's Court Procedure Act 1310 lets a bank, unless a beneficiary designation in effect provides otherwise, pay a surviving spouse up to $30,000 immediately on the spouse's affidavit. Thirty days after death it may pay up to $15,000 to a surviving spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, niece, or nephew, and six months after death up to $5,000 to a distributee when the decedent left no spouse or minor child, in each case on an affidavit stating that no fiduciary has been appointed. TrustCo publishes no procedure of its own for these payments.
Only when the account holder lived in New Jersey. With certain exceptions, New Jersey requires a Division of Taxation waiver before a bank releases a New Jersey resident decedent's funds, but under the blanket waiver a bank may release up to 50 percent of the account to an executor, administrator, legal representative, or surviving joint tenant without one. When the assets pass only to Class A beneficiaries (spouse, civil union or domestic partner, child or stepchild, grandchild, parent, or grandparent) and the form's other conditions are met, Form L-8 is taken or sent directly to the bank in place of a waiver. Waivers are not required for bank accounts of a decedent who did not live in New Jersey.
Federal law (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)) bars a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause on a home loan with fewer than five dwelling units upon a transfer to a relative resulting from the borrower's death, a transfer in which the borrower's spouse or children become owners, or a transfer into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary. Federal servicing rules (Regulation X) also require a covered servicer to confirm a successor in interest once it learns of the death. TrustCo publishes no mortgage death procedure; its Customer Service line is 1-800-670-3110.
TrustCo Bank's Customer Service can be reached by phone at 1-800-670-3110 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(6)·
Data sourced from TrustCo Bank primary sources (23 pages reviewed). How we research.
TrustCo Bank death claims support
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Estate planning articles
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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
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