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Prepare the letter of instruction American Equity requests during estate or death-claim processing — addressed to its verified claims department with the required enclosures. PDF.
Step 1 of 5
The deceased contract owner and the American Equity contract being claimed.
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Send it to American Equity's estate/claims department: P.O. Box 71216, Des Moines, IA 50325-9909. You can reach the department at 1-877-542-8847.
American Equity lists these among its required documents: Certified death certificate; Government-issued ID for beneficiary; Completed Beneficiary Claim Form (018008-NQ for non-qualified contracts or 018008-Q for IRAs); Trust documents and trustee identification (if trust is beneficiary). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from American Equity's recorded requirements.
7-10 business days after all requirements are complete
American Equity provides its own letter-of-instruction form. We complete that official form with your information; you print, sign, and send it.
It depends on the capacity you are acting in. An executor or administrator encloses Letters Testamentary (when there is a will) or Letters of Administration (when there is not); a successor trustee encloses a certificate of trust; a successor under a small estate encloses that state’s small estate affidavit. The prepared letter lists the proof-of-authority document for your role alongside the institution’s required documents.
A letter of instruction is the written request an institution asks for when settling a deceased customer’s account. It identifies the decedent and the account, states the capacity you are acting in, and tells the institution what to do with the account.