How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to New England FCU?

Send it to New England FCU's estate/claims department: EastRise Credit Union, 141 Harvest Lane, P.O. Box 527, Williston, VT 05495. You can reach the department at 800.400.8790.

New England FCU lists these among its required documents: Certified copy of the death certificate (certified copies for all deceased owners on a multi-owner account); Government-issued photo ID for the claimant; EastRise may also require a second form of ID, a thumbprint, or a fingerprint; Claimant's SSN, birthdate, and physical address; Proof of the estate representative's or claimant's authority (letters of administration, court appointment). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from New England FCU's recorded requirements.

ITF/Totten Trust and joint-survivorship accounts can be released once EastRise has the certified death certificate and completes its identification due diligence. Estate-representative claims track the Vermont Probate Division: a small estate under 14 V.S.A. § 1901 still requires a petition and letters of administration, and those letters are effective for one year (14 V.S.A. § 1902). Bylaws Article III, Section 5(c) lets a deceased member's share account (other than one held in joint tenancy) stay open until the close of the dividend period in which estate administration is completed, so the account is not force-closed while probate runs.

New England FCU accepts a letter you write. We draft it for you, addressed to New England FCU'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.