What to do when an United Community account holder dies
Report the death to United Community's General Support at 1-800-822-2651
After an account holder at United Community 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 United Community's General Support at 1-800-822-2651 with the proper legal authority documents.
Deposit, investment & retirement accounts
To file a claim after an account holder's death, here is what United Community requires:
Filing a claim
What happens to each kind of account4
- Joint account with survivorship
The balance belongs to the surviving owner or owners.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Payable-on-death account
On a pay-on-death or revocable trust account, ownership passes to the named beneficiaries only after every owner who created the account has died. The Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina terms add that the beneficiary must then be living.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
State law on paying a balance without lettersFlorida, Georgia, Tennessee
- 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.
- Georgia
O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239
Georgia law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on an affidavit, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Paid to: the surviving spouse; else the children; else the father and mother; else the brothers and sisters (subsection (b))
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
Paid to: providers of funeral services and of services for the last illness (subsection (c))
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
When: if no application for the deposit is made by any person named in subsection (b) of this Code section within 45 days from the death of the intestate depositor
The section applies where the person died without a will. The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
- Tennessee
T.C.A. § 45-2-708
Tennessee law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.T.C.A. § 45-2-708Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $15,000 held at the institution
When: 30 days after the death
Paid to: the executor named in any will known to the institution; in the absence of knowledge of a purported will naming a surviving executor: a creditor for expenses of the funeral; a creditor for the expenses of the last illness; the surviving spouse; the next of kin
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
T.C.A. § 30-2-103(b)(2)
Tennessee law permits a bank to pay from a deceased depositor's balance on proof the institution accepts, without letters testamentary or letters of administration.T.C.A. § 30-2-103(b)(2)Verified Oct 3, 2026View source
Limit: $10,000 held at the institution
When: six (6) months have passed since the decedent's death without an application being made for the appointment of a personal representative
Paid to: the surviving spouse of a decedent or a trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse; if no surviving spouse exists, the surviving children of the decedent as tenants in common or a trust for the benefit of any surviving children (in that order)
The section permits the payment. It does not require the bank to make it. The section sets further conditions.
What United Community's agreement and guidance say7
- Telling the institution
The deposit agreement requires prompt notice when any person with a right to withdraw funds from the account dies.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- What it does when notified
Until the bank knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge, it may continue to honor checks, items and instructions on the account.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Payments after the death
The bank may pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after the death, unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Deposits after the death
If the bank must return to the federal government a benefit payment that was directly deposited to the account, it may deduct that amount from the account.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Debts owed to the institution
The bank may set off funds in the account against a due and payable debt owed to it, except where the law prohibits it (for example, on an Individual Retirement Account).1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Disputes between claimants
The bank may place an administrative hold on the account if it becomes subject to an adverse claim, including by others claiming an interest as survivors or beneficiaries, until a legal proceeding or evidence satisfactory to the bank resolves the dispute.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
- Which state governs the account
United Community has separate deposit terms for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (which also covers accounts opened online) and Tennessee. The terms for the state where the account was opened apply.7
Not in United Community's published guidance5
- 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
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.
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-822-2651
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 United Community's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- A list of required documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Claims Contact
Phone: 1-800-822-2651
Not in United Community's published guidance4
- A procedure for reporting a death
- A claim form
- A list of required documents
- Whether the death certificate must be certified
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for a window. United Community's deposit account agreement lets the bank keep honoring checks and instructions until it knows of the death and has had a reasonable opportunity to act on that knowledge, and it allows the bank to pay or certify checks drawn on or before the date of death for up to ten days after the death unless someone claiming an interest in the account orders a stop payment. The agreement requires prompt notice of the death. It also lets the bank deduct a federal benefit payment it must return to the government and set off a due and payable debt owed to the bank. United Community's General Support line is 1-800-UCBANK1 (1-800-822-2651).
United Community publishes a separate deposit account agreement for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina (which also covers accounts opened online), and Tennessee, and the terms that apply are those of the state where the account was opened. The versions differ in their ownership and death provisions: Georgia and Tennessee describe a "Revocable Trust or Pay-on-Death Account", North Carolina a "Payable on Death (POD) Account", and Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina set out "Rights at Death" for single-party and multiple-party accounts, including that a single-party account without a pay-on-death designation passes as part of the owner's estate. The ten-day check window, the federal benefit deduction, the right of setoff, and the fiduciary-account terms are the same in every version.
Only after every owner who created the account has died. Under the Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina terms the beneficiary must also be living at that time, and in Georgia and Tennessee an account created by two or more people is owned by them jointly with survivorship first. Under the Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina terms ownership passes to the pay-on-death beneficiaries at the death of the last surviving owner and is not part of that owner's estate. Until then the owners may change beneficiaries, change account types, or withdraw all or part of the funds at any time. United Community publishes no document list for a beneficiary claim.
Federal law (12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)) bars a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause on a loan secured by residential property 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 an owner, or a transfer into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary. United Community publishes no deceased-borrower procedure; for questions about an existing home loan it lists 1-800-UCBANK1 (1-800-822-2651), Option 6.
United Community's General Support can be reached by phone at 1-800-822-2651 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
Data sourced from United Community primary sources (24 pages reviewed). How we research.
United Community death claims support
General Support
Phone
Same number, spelled
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