How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Mid Atlantic Trust?

Send it to Mid Atlantic Trust's estate/claims department: Mid Atlantic Trust Company (American Trust Custody), 1251 Waterfront Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 — completed forms are returned to the address printed on the form; MATC names email to requests@macg.com as the preferred channel. There are no branches.. You can reach the department at 412-391-7077.

Mid Atlantic Trust lists these among its required documents: Completed Request for Distribution form; Certified copy of the death certificate; Government-issued photo ID for the claiming beneficiary; Complete copy of the trust agreement and the trust EIN, if a trust is the named beneficiary. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Mid Atlantic Trust's recorded requirements.

Once Mid Atlantic Trust has a completed Request for Distribution form, its stated processing time is 2-3 business days, and checks mailed standard USPS take a further 3-5 business days to arrive. That clock only starts after the plan's recordkeeper or TPA has settled who the beneficiary is and authorized the distribution — which is the part that actually takes time, and which MATC has no control over.

Mid Atlantic Trust provides its own letter-of-instruction/claim form. We prepare a transmittal cover letter and an enclosure checklist to accompany that form.

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.