What to do when an UMB Bank account holder dies
Report the death to UMB Bank at 1-800-860-4862
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 Trust and Estate Planning at 1-800-862-6670 with the proper legal authority documents.
To start, call UMB Bank at 1-800-862-6670. Have the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate ready before you call.
Death claim process
The death claim process at UMB Bank works as follows:
Filing a claim
What happens to each kind of account3
- Joint account with survivorship
"After the death of a joint accountholder, all of the rights of the deceased account owner automatically pass to the surviving individual(s) who own the account."1
- Payable-on-death account
A payable-on-death direction transfers the owner's interest at death to the designated beneficiaries. UMB carries out the designation on individual and joint accounts "in accordance with applicable law".1
- Fiduciary account
On an account held by a trustee, executor, administrator, conservator, guardian, custodian or agent, each fiduciary may act individually to the maximum extent permitted by law.1
State law on paying a balance without lettersNew Mexico, Texas
- New Mexico
NMSA 1978 § 58-1-8
New Mexico law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.NMSA 1978 § 58-1-8Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $2,000 held at the institution
Paid to: the surviving spouse; the surviving next of kin, of the closest degree of lineal consanguinity (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Texas
Tex. Est. Code § 152.051
Texas law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an order of the court, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.Tex. Est. Code § 152.051Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: a funeral home or the applicant, for funeral and burial expenses
Limit: $5,000 in total from every holder
When: the application may be filed "not earlier than the third day after the date of the decedent's death and not later than nine 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.
Accounts handled elsewhere2
- UMB Private Wealth Management
Estates in which UMB is named executor or personal representative2
Phone: 1-800-862-6670
- UMB Healthcare Services
UMB health savings accounts, under a separate procedure3
Phone: 1-866-520-4472
What UMB Bank's agreement and guidance say4
- Powers of attorney
"Unless state law provides otherwise, the Bank will assume all powers of attorney terminate upon the principal's death." A person acting under a power of attorney is not an owner of the account and has no right of survivorship in it.1
- Debts owed to the institution
UMB may apply funds in any account to a debt owed to UMB or its affiliates without prior notice, including funds in a joint account for the debt of any joint owner. This does not apply to IRAs or health savings accounts held at UMB or its affiliates.1
- Deposits after the death
If federal or state benefits are deposited after the recipient is no longer eligible and UMB must return them, UMB may recover the payments from any of the accounts.1
- Payments after the death
UMB is not required to pay a check presented more than six months after its date.1
Not in UMB Bank's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A department for deceased-customer accounts
- A list of required documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Frequently asked questions
From a joint account, yes. The setoff clause of UMB's Deposit Account Agreement lets UMB apply funds in any account you maintain with it to any debt you owe UMB or its affiliates, without prior notice, and states that if the account is a joint account, UMB may set off funds in it to pay the debts of any joint owner. A debt includes overdrafts and UMB's fees and charges. The setoff provision does not apply to funds in IRAs or HSAs held at UMB or its affiliates. The agreement also lets UMB set off against any of the accounts to recover federal or state benefits deposited after the recipient was no longer eligible to receive them.
No. UMB's Deposit Account Agreement states: "Unless state law provides otherwise, the Bank will assume all powers of attorney terminate upon the principal's death." While the principal is alive, UMB is not required to recognize every power of attorney: it generally requires the power to meet state law, including being of a type recognized as durable, may require the attorney-in-fact to present the original power of attorney and to sign an affidavit about the right to act, and may restrict the types or amounts of transactions case by case. A person acting under a power of attorney is not an owner of the account and has no right of survivorship in it.
Yes. UMB's Deposit Account Agreement lists, among the ways a consumer account may be held, an individual account or a joint account with right of survivorship "with a payable-on-death direction," and states that UMB "may accept and execute payable-on-death designations on individual accounts and joint accounts in accordance with applicable law." On a joint account, the rights of a deceased owner pass automatically to the surviving owners. A person named in a payable-on-death direction is not, by virtue of that direction, an owner of the account.
UMB Bank's Trust and Estate Planning can be reached by phone at 1-800-862-6670 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
(4)·
Data sourced from UMB Bank primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
UMB Bank death claims support
Checking, Savings or CDs (UMB Banking Services)
Phone
Online banking enrollment
Credit card service, lost or stolen cards
Debit card account
Loans and lines of credit servicing
HSA account service
Hours
Mailing address
Website
Death notifications go through general customer service.
Estate planning articles
Learn how to protect your UMB Bank 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.
