What to do when a UMB Bank account holder dies
Contact UMB Bank — 5-step process, 8 required documents, and 5-10 business days for initial review after complete document submission
UMB Banking Services
UMB Financial Corporation, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
UMB Banking Services
UMB Financial Corporation, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
Estate Processing
UMB Bank, Attn: Estate Processing, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
After an account holder at UMB Bank dies, accounts with beneficiary designations or trust ownership transfer to the designated recipients without probate. Solely-owned accounts require the estate's representative to contact UMB Bank's Estate Processing at 1-800-699-8702 with the proper legal authority documents.
To start, call UMB Bank at 1-800-699-8702. 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 UMB Bank works as follows:
Filing a claim
- Contact UMB Banking Services at 800.821.5184 to notify the bank of the account holder's death
- Provide the deceased's full legal name, Social Security number, and account number(s)
- Submit a certified copy of the death certificate to a UMB branch or by mail
- The Deposit Account Agreement states that unless state law provides otherwise, UMB will assume ALL powers of attorney terminate upon the principal's death - an agent who kept paying the decedent's bills from the account after death was acting without authority
- While the principal is alive, UMB may require the attorney-in-fact to present the ORIGINAL power of attorney and to sign an affidavit regarding the agent's right to act; UMB is not required to recognize every power of attorney and generally requires it to be "durable" under applicable state law
- For accounts with a payable-on-death direction: provide the death certificate and the beneficiary's government-issued photo ID. The agreement notes UMB accepts POD directions on JOINT accounts as well as individual accounts, and that a POD beneficiary is not an owner of the account during the owner's lifetime
- For joint accounts with right of survivorship: on the death of a joint accountholder, all rights of the deceased owner automatically pass to the surviving owner(s); provide the death certificate to update records
- For accounts without beneficiary: provide Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or the small estate affidavit authorized by the state where the decedent lived
- For trust accounts: provide death certificate, trust documentation, and successor trustee identification. UMB treats a trustee, executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, or custodian as a "fiduciary" and states each fiduciary on a fiduciary account may act individually
- The agreement's Setoff clause lets UMB apply funds in any account to a debt owed to UMB or its affiliates, with NO prior notice, and expressly allows setoff against a JOINT account to pay the debts of any joint owner - a surviving joint owner's balance can be reduced for the decedent's UMB debt
- Setoff does NOT reach IRAs or HSAs held at UMB or its affiliates, which the agreement carves out - those pass to the named beneficiary intact
- For IRA accounts: provide death certificate, beneficiary ID, and complete IRA distribution or transfer forms
- UMB may require additional forms depending on the type of accounts impacted and specific circumstances
- Distribution options include transfer to an existing UMB account, opening a new account, or check
- For trust and wealth accounts, call UMB Private Wealth Management at 800.862.6670 - the same group administers estates where UMB is the named executor or personal representative
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Valid government-issued photo ID for the claimant (beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee)
- Account information for the deceased (account numbers, account types)
- For accounts without beneficiary: Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration, or Small Estate Affidavit
- For trust accounts: trust documentation including successor trustee provisions and signature pages
- For IRA accounts: IRA distribution or inherited IRA transfer forms
- Written instructions on distribution preference
- If an agent was acting under a power of attorney: the ORIGINAL power of attorney, and an affidavit of the agent's right to act if UMB requests one (UMB treats the POA as terminated at death unless state law provides otherwise)
What to know at this institution
UMB's Deposit Account Agreement (effective July 1, 2025, "UMB Bank, n.a.") does not set a fixed grace period for honoring a decedent's checks, but three of its clauses drive an estate settlement. First, the Setoff clause lets UMB apply funds in ANY account, including a joint account, to a debt owed to UMB or its affiliates without prior notice, and expressly permits setoff against a joint account for the debts of any joint owner - IRAs and HSAs are the only carve-outs. Second, UMB assumes all powers of attorney terminate at the principal's death unless state law says otherwise, so an agent must stop transacting immediately. Third, UMB accepts payable-on-death directions on joint accounts as well as individual accounts, so a joint account can carry a POD beneficiary who takes only after the last owner dies. Separately, UMB is not required to pay any check presented more than six months after its date, which affects stale checks the decedent wrote. For wealth management and trust accounts, contact UMB Private Wealth Management at 800.862.6670 - that group also administers estates in which UMB was named executor or personal representative.
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 UMB Banking Services at 800.821.5184 to report the borrower's death
- Provide the deceased borrower's full legal name, Social Security number, and loan number
- Submit a certified copy of the death certificate
- Request to be recognized as a Successor in Interest under CFPB mortgage servicing rules
- Provide documentation proving your ownership interest in the property (e.g., probated will, court order, deed, trust document, or marriage certificate)
- UMB will review your documentation and confirm your status as a Successor in Interest
- Once confirmed, you will have access to loan information and can discuss options: continue making payments, apply for loss mitigation, assume the loan, refinance, or pay off the balance
- Continue making monthly mortgage payments during the review process to avoid default
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Government-issued photo ID for the heir or personal representative
- Documentation proving ownership interest in the property: probated will, court order, recorded deed, trust document, or marriage certificate
- Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (if going through probate)
- Loan number and borrower information
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-821-5184
UMB Bank, Attn: Estate Processing, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
What to know at this institution
Under the federal Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act (12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3), UMB 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, loss mitigation options, and assumption rights. Mortgage servicing is provided through Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. Online mortgage servicing portal: umb.mtgsvc.com.
Prepare your letter of instruction to UMB Bank
UMB Bank accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to UMB Bank'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 UMB Bank →Expected timelines at UMB Bank: 5-10 business days for initial review after complete document submission. Delays are almost always caused by incomplete paperwork—gathering all required documents before filing the initial claim helps avoid back-and-forth.
UMB Bank requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Valid government-issued photo ID for the claimant (beneficiary, executor, or successor trustee), and Account information for the deceased (account numbers, account types), 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
From a joint account, yes. The UMB Deposit Account Agreement's Setoff clause lets UMB apply funds in any account you maintain with it to a debt you owe UMB or its affiliates, with no prior notice, and it expressly states that if the account is a joint account, UMB may set off funds in it to pay the debts of any joint owner. So a surviving joint owner can see the balance reduced for the decedent's UMB credit card or overdraft. The agreement carves out only IRAs and HSAs, which the setoff provision does not apply to. If the decedent had UMB debt and you want a deposit balance to reach a beneficiary intact, that is an argument for holding the money in a trust-titled account or a retirement account rather than a joint deposit account.
No. UMB's Deposit Account Agreement states that unless state law provides otherwise, the bank will assume all powers of attorney terminate upon the principal's death. An agent who keeps paying the decedent's bills from the account after the date of death is transacting without authority. Even while the principal is alive, UMB is not required to recognize every power of attorney: it generally requires the document to be durable under applicable state law, it may require the attorney-in-fact to present the ORIGINAL power of attorney, it may require the agent to sign an affidavit about their right to act, and it can restrict the types or amounts of transactions the agent may conduct. Bring the original, not a copy.
Yes. UMB's Deposit Account Agreement lists an account held as an individual account or a joint account with right of survivorship, either one "with a payable-on-death direction," and states UMB may accept and execute payable-on-death designations on individual accounts and joint accounts. In practice that means a married couple's joint checking or savings account can carry a POD beneficiary who takes only after the last surviving owner dies, keeping that balance out of probate at the second death. The named POD beneficiary is not an owner of the account and has no access while an owner is alive.
UMB Bank's Estate Processing can be reached by phone at 1-800-699-8702 for questions throughout the claims process.
Multiple UMB Bank accounts may mean multiple claims. Some account types can be processed together, but others require their own documentation. Check with the Estate Processing to confirm what applies.
Sources
Data sourced from UMB Bank primary sources (17 pages reviewed). How we research.
UMB Banking Services
UMB Financial Corporation, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
UMB Banking Services
UMB Financial Corporation, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
Estate Processing
UMB Bank, Attn: Estate Processing, 1010 Grand Boulevard, Kansas City, MO 64106
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