How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Thrivent?

Send it to Thrivent's estate/claims department: Thrivent, PO Box 8075, Appleton, WI 54912-8075 (claims correspondence alternate: Thrivent, Attn: Claims, 4321 N. Ballard Rd., Appleton, WI 54919). Thrivent Funds death claims: Thrivent Funds, PO Box 219348, Kansas City, MO 64121-9348 (fax 866-278-8363). You can reach the department at 1-920-628-6312.

Thrivent lists these among its required documents: Completed Beneficiary Claim Statement (Form 28E) for life, annuity, and settlement-option contracts -- one per claimant, with a contract number for each election; Death certificate showing cause and manner of death (copy accepted up to $500,000; original certified certificate required above $500,000); Government-issued ID for beneficiary or trustee; Beneficiary Social Security number and contact information. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Thrivent's recorded requirements.

Thrivent contacts the beneficiaries of record within 10 business days of the report, and a claim coordinator calls within 5 to 7 business days of the initial call reporting the claim (the welcome call); total processing time varies based on claim complexity and documentation completeness

Thrivent 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.