How Do I Write a Letter of Instruction to UFCU?

Send it to UFCU's estate/claims department: University Federal Credit Union, PO Box 9350, Austin, TX 78766-9350. You can reach the department at (512) 467-8080.

UFCU lists these among its required documents: Certified death certificate or court order - the Membership Agreement calls this the "satisfactory evidence" that stops UFCU from continuing to honor the member's transactions; Government-issued photo ID for claimant (unexpired); for an estate account, valid photo ID for EVERY administrator, executor, or co-executor being added; To open an estate account: ORIGINAL Letters Testamentary or ORIGINAL Letters of Independent Administration (Texas independent administration), plus an ORIGINAL death certificate and a valid EIN; Court order or similar document acceptable to UFCU, if the account is a multiple party account WITHOUT right of survivorship. The prepared letter includes an enclosure checklist drawn from UFCU's recorded requirements.

UFCU may keep paying member-authorized drafts and transfer orders for 10 days after it is notified of the death unless a claimant instructs it to stop. On a joint account, services are suspended 150 days after actual notice of the primary account holder's death. Estate accounts requiring probate follow the Texas probate court's timeline.

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