How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Merchants Bank of Indiana?

Send it to Merchants Bank of Indiana's estate/claims department: Merchants Bank of Indiana, 410 Monon Blvd, Carmel, IN 46032. You can reach the department at (844) 222-6562.

Merchants Bank of Indiana lists these among its required documents: Certified copy of the death certificate; Government-issued photo ID for the claimant; Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration issued by an Indiana court (if the estate is probated); Indiana small estate affidavit under Ind. Code 29-1-8-1 — sworn, presented directly to the bank, available 45 days after death when no personal representative has been appointed or applied for and the gross probate estate less liens, encumbrances, and reasonable funeral expenses is $100,000 or less (deaths after June 30, 2022). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Merchants Bank of Indiana's recorded requirements.

Merchants publishes no processing time. POD and joint-survivorship accounts move fastest, because Ind. Code 32-17-11-18 vests the funds in the survivor or the named beneficiary at death and the bank needs only a certified death certificate and claimant ID. An individually owned account with no beneficiary is gated on either an Indiana small estate affidavit — which cannot be presented until 45 days after the death — or Letters from an Indiana court, which run on the county probate court's calendar.

Merchants Bank of Indiana accepts a letter you write. We draft it for you, addressed to Merchants Bank of Indiana's verified claims department with the required enclosures.

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.