This manual provides frontline staff with background information and procedures financial institutions should have in place to assist staff with identifying persons who may have authority to act on behalf of a deceased customer. The resource explains roles, responsibilities, and authorities of various fiduciaries.
Topics covered in the manual include a summary of probate and transferring assets,
official notice of a customer’s death, non-probate transfers (i.e., payable on death
(POD) beneficiaries, joint accounts, marital accounts, and transfer by affidavit), bank
statutory protections, agency and business accounts, death of trustee, and death of
other fiduciaries (i.e., custodians, agents, and guardians). The manual includes a checklist to help frontline staff identify what to consider when working to update or close a deposit account due to death of a customer.
The information provided within the manual is meant to assist frontline staff with
understanding who may be acting on behalf of a deceased accountholder and of the
information that should be reviewed and collected by staff. The family or other
interested persons need make their own determination outside the financial institution
regarding how best to handle the affairs of a deceased accountholder.