What to do when a UWM account holder dies
Contact UWM's UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest) — 6-step process, 6 required documents, and report the death and begin sending documents as soon as possible. confirming successor-in-interest status and completing an assumption, refinance, or release of liability can take several weeks to a few months depending on probate.
UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest)
Phone1-888-464-2432
Fax1-469-322-4622
Mailing Address
UWM Research Department, PO Box 612488, Dallas, TX 75261
WebsiteLearn more→
Verified Jul 2026
When a UWM account holder passes away, the next step depends on how the mortgage loans 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 UWM's UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest) (1-888-464-2432) to access and distribute the funds.
Begin by calling UWM at 1-888-464-2432. You will need the deceased's full name, account numbers, and a certified death certificate to get the process started.
Death claim process
The death claim process at UWM works as follows:
Filing a claim
1
Contact UWM at 888-464-2432 to report that the borrower has died, or send documents to the UWM Research Department. Notifying the servicer promptly helps avoid late fees and foreclosure while ownership is sorted out.
2
Continue making the monthly mortgage payments. A borrower's death does not pause the payment obligation, and missed payments can lead to late fees and foreclosure while successor status is being confirmed.
3
Send UWM a certified death certificate plus one or more documents that confirm your relationship to the customer and your ownership interest, so UWM can release loan information to you as a successor in interest or executor:
- Will or Last Testament showing your ownership interest or that you are the Executor or Administrator of the estate.
- Court Pleadings/Orders such as Letters Testamentary, Letter of Personal Representative, Letter of Fiduciary, or Letter of Administration, filed by the court or signed by the judge.
- Probate Proceeding Order signed by the judge, if a probate case was opened.
- Deed, or an Intestate Heirs Affidavit where there is no will, or a Recorded Affidavit of Heirship where state law requires one.
- Evidence of family relationship such as a marriage or birth certificate.
- A recorded Life Estate Deed, Lady Bird Deed, or Transfer on Death Deed that automatically transferred ownership to you at the customer's death.
4
Submit documents to the UWM Research Department by email to Research.Incoming@myuwmloan.com, by fax to 469-322-4622, or by mail to PO Box 612488, Dallas, TX 75261.
5
Ask UWM for the outstanding balance, the monthly payment, and the payoff amount so heirs can weigh their options.
6
Choose how to handle the loan:
- Keep the home and continue the existing payments. The Garn-St. Germain Act, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(5), bars the lender from calling the loan due on "a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower" — the statute conditions this on the transferee being a relative, not on occupancy — and (d)(3) does the same for a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety. So an inheriting relative can generally take over the existing loan without paying the full balance immediately.
- Refinance the loan into the successor's own name, qualifying on that person's own income and assets. Refinancing can also fund a buyout of co-heirs.
- For a surviving co-borrower or spouse who wants the deceased borrower's name off the loan, UWM publishes exactly two paths: a release of liability, or a refinance. UWM cautions that the release of liability is investor specific, that there is no guarantee it will be approved, and that fees apply. On either path the remaining borrower must qualify using only their own income and assets.
- Sell the home; the outstanding balance is paid from the sale proceeds at closing and any remainder passes to the heirs.
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Will or Last Testament, or Court Pleadings/Orders (Letters Testamentary, Letter of Personal Representative, Letter of Fiduciary, or Letter of Administration)
- Probate Proceeding Order signed by the judge (if a probate case was opened)
- Deed, Intestate Heirs Affidavit, or Recorded Affidavit of Heirship showing ownership interest
- Evidence of family relationship (marriage or birth certificate) where relevant
- Recorded Life Estate Deed, Lady Bird Deed, or Transfer on Death Deed (if ownership transferred automatically at death)
Claims Contact
What to know at this institution
A mortgage is tied to the home, not the person; the home is collateral. Heirs who did not sign the loan are generally not personally liable for the debt, but the home is still at risk of foreclosure if payments stop. Successor-in-interest status gives an heir access to loan information and the ability to apply for loss mitigation; it is defined under the CFPB's Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.30-1024.41). UWM warns borrowers never to redirect payments to a third party and to treat unsolicited requests for advance fees or unconventional payment methods as potential fraud.
Prepare your letter of instruction to UWM
UWM accepts a claimant-drafted letter of instruction. We draft it for you — addressed to UWM's verified claims department, with the documents it requires enclosed.
Build your letter of instructionHow long the process takes at UWM: Report the death and begin sending documents as soon as possible. Confirming successor-in-interest status and completing an assumption, refinance, or release of liability can take several weeks to a few months depending on probate. The most common reason for delays is missing or incomplete documentation, so submitting everything upfront is the best way to keep things moving.
UWM requires several documents to process a claim, including Certified copy of the death certificate, Will or Last Testament, or Court Pleadings/Orders (Letters Testamentary, Letter of Personal Representative, Letter of Fiduciary, or Letter of Administration), and Probate Proceeding Order signed by the judge (if a probate case was opened), 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
Because UWM will not release loan information to you until it has confirmed who you are. UWM states that, in addition to the death certificate, it must confirm that you are a successor in interest to the customer or the Executor of the estate before it can release any information on the loan. A successor in interest is someone who takes an ownership interest in the property securing the mortgage — an heir, a surviving spouse, a beneficiary under a transfer on death deed. The status is defined by the CFPB's Regulation X (12 CFR 1024.30-1024.41), and once confirmed it entitles you to loan information and to apply for loss mitigation. Send the death certificate and your proof of ownership or authority to the UWM Research Department at Research.Incoming@myuwmloan.com, fax 469-322-4622, or PO Box 612488, Dallas, TX 75261. Keep paying the mortgage while you wait: the confirmation process does not pause the payment obligation.
UWM publishes an unusually specific list on its deceased-customer page, and it accepts one or more of these alongside the death certificate: a Will or Last Testament showing your ownership interest or that you are the Executor or Administrator; Court Pleadings/Orders such as Letters Testamentary, a Letter of Personal Representative, a Letter of Fiduciary, or a Letter of Administration, filed by the court or signed by the judge; a Probate Proceeding Order signed by the judge if a probate case was opened; a Deed; an Intestate Heirs Affidavit where there is no will; a Recorded Affidavit of Heirship where state law requires one and it has been recorded; evidence of family relationship such as a marriage or birth certificate; or a recorded Life Estate Deed, Lady Bird Deed, or Transfer Upon Death Deed. UWM specifies that the affidavit and deed documents must actually be RECORDED, and that the TOD or Lady Bird deed must have been executed by the deceased customer.
Generally yes, if you are a relative. Most mortgages carry a due-on-sale clause letting the lender demand the full balance when the property changes hands, but the federal Garn-St. Germain Act bars enforcement in this situation. Section 1701j-3(d)(5) of Title 12 exempts "a transfer to a relative resulting from the death of a borrower," and (d)(3) exempts a transfer by devise, descent, or operation of law on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety. The statute conditions (d)(5) on your being a relative, not on your occupying the home. So an inheriting relative can keep making the existing monthly payments on the existing terms. This is different from a release of liability or a refinance, both of which do require you to qualify on your own income and assets.
UWM publishes exactly two, and it is candid about the limits of the first. A RELEASE OF LIABILITY is a document releasing a borrower from the obligation to repay the loan; UWM warns that this option is investor specific, that there is no guarantee it will be approved, and that there are fees associated with the transaction. A REFINANCE is, in UWM's words, "the only other option." On either path the spouse remaining on the mortgage must qualify for the loan using only their own income and assets — which is the practical catch for a surviving spouse who was not the primary earner. Note that you do not need either one simply to keep the loan current and stay in the home; you need one only to remove the deceased borrower's name from the debt.
Yes, and UWM has a published process for it, but be clear on what moves. The LOAN cannot be retitled into a trust — it stays a debt in your name. What moves is TITLE TO THE HOME, which the trust takes subject to UWM's existing lien. Record the deed conveying the property to yourself as trustee, then notify UWM by sending the Deed and the Trust Documents to the Research Department at Research.Incoming@myuwmloan.com, fax 469-322-4622, or PO Box 612488, Dallas, TX 75261. The transfer does not let UWM call the loan due: Garn-St. Germain, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(8), exempts "a transfer into an inter vivos trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary and which does not relate to a transfer of rights of occupancy in the property." UWM uses the same Research Department and the same document channel for transfers to a spouse or children, and notes that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac allow transfers to other family members as well.
UWM's UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest) can be reached by phone at 1-888-464-2432, email at Research.Incoming@myuwmloan.com, and fax at 1-469-322-4622 for questions throughout the claims process.
If the deceased held multiple UWM mortgage loans, each may require a separate claim or have different documentation requirements. The UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest) can confirm which accounts require individual attention and which can be processed together.
Sources
Data sourced from UWM primary sources (14 pages reviewed). How we research.
UWM Research Department (deceased customer / successor in interest)
Phone1-888-464-2432
Fax1-469-322-4622
Mailing Address
UWM Research Department, PO Box 612488, Dallas, TX 75261
WebsiteLearn more→
Verified Jul 2026
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