How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to Tower FCU?

Send it to Tower FCU's estate/claims department: Tower Federal Credit Union, ATTN: Member Case Settlement Department, 7901 Sandy Spring Rd, Laurel, MD 20707. You can reach the department at 301-497-7000.

Tower FCU lists these among its required documents: Certified copy of the death certificate; Driver license or state-issued photo ID for each joint owner, POD payee, executor, or trustee not already known to Tower; Letters of Administration from the Maryland Register of Wills (when the account has no POD payee and no joint owner); Complete trust document or Certificate of Trust (for trust-titled accounts, plus trustee identification). The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from Tower FCU's recorded requirements.

Tower states deceased-member accounts are closed within one to three months, and that an account should not remain open beyond six months. Joint and POD accounts stay open (with survivor access) for up to 90 days, then close. Interest is reported under the decedent Social Security number until the account closes. Estate accounts requiring Letters of Administration depend on Register of Wills processing time.

Tower FCU accepts a letter you write. We draft it for you, addressed to Tower 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.