How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to PenAir?

Send it to PenAir's estate/claims department: PenAir Credit Union, Attn: Member Services, 1495 E. Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 32514. You can reach the department at 877-473-6247.

PenAir lists these among its required documents: Certified copy of the death certificate; Government-issued photo ID for the claimant (POD beneficiary, surviving joint owner, IRA/HSA beneficiary, or personal representative); For a joint account: PenAir will not release funds to a survivor until "all required legal documents" are delivered (Section 30) — confirm the list for the specific account before you go; Letters of Administration / Letters Testamentary, or a Florida summary-administration order (Fla. Stat. 735.201) or disposition-without-administration order (Fla. Stat. 735.301), for an account with no POD, joint, or beneficiary designation. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from PenAir's recorded requirements.

PenAir publishes no service level for deceased-member claims. POD, joint, IRA, and HSA claims are released once the death certificate, claimant ID, and any documents PenAir requires under Section 30 are in hand; an estate account waits on the applicable state probate (Florida summary administration is materially faster than formal administration). A disputed account can be held indefinitely under Section 39 until the claimants agree in writing or a court rules.

PenAir accepts a letter you write. We draft it for you, addressed to PenAir'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.