[SPAM] Re: [WSBAPT] BECU And Estate Claims

Tue Jul 8 14:22:07 PDT 2014

I have not had a recent problem with BECU, but in the past I have had
situations where BECU has sucked money out of accounts on death or frozen
accounts if the funds were insufficient to cover the liability.
Interestingly enough, they will continue to withdraw auto HELOC payments
but all other auto payments cease.

When I inquired about this practice, I was told, 'people need to read
their agreements.'  So, I went home and pulled out our BECU HELOC
agreement.  Sure enough it states, 'death is default.'  When I asked
someone at the main office re this practice, I was told we do it 'because
we can'

In short, the best practice is that if you have indebtedness to BECU, you
should keep the most minimal of accounts there and have your primary
accounts elsewhere.

Good luck with your situation Kerry.

Beth A. McDaniel

On Jul 8, 2014, at 2:03 PM, "Richard Wills"
<richardwills at washington-probate.com> wrote:

I have run into this problem with BECU over & over, particularly with
deceased Boeing employees who use BECU as their sole financial
institution:  savings, checking, credit card, car loan, mortgage loan,
HELOC loan, etc.  At the first whiff of the D's death, BECU determines how
much the D owes them & transfers as much as possible from of the D's cash
accounts to pay off the D's obligations.  I've never seen the
circumstance, however, where BECU transfers more than is currently owed by
the D, eg, paying off a loan that's not in arrears.  Furthermore, I've
never found a remedy to get any of the funds returned.

I had an insolvent estate years ago involving a ton a creditors including
BECU where BECU took all of what would have been the estate's funds (that
otherwise would have been paid pro-rata to all the creditors), resulting
in BECU's getting everything there was to get from the estate (among other
things, leaving nothing to pay its admin. expenses) & all of the other
creditors getting nothing of their respective pro-rata share.  This
experience with Boeing led me to advise all of my clients, probate or not,
& especially anybody having any connection with Boeing, to use a separate
financial institution for each account.  As a result, I now have one
account with about every major bank in Seattle.  When I tell
Boeing-connected clients about BECU & its practice, their uniform response
is, "Can they really do that?  I'll change my accounts immediately."

On 7/8/2014 1:12 PM, Eric Nelsen wrote:

I seem to recall there being a provision in some HELOCs that authorize the
bank to swipe money from an account they hold if they want to; not sure if
it's triggered by default or is just discretionary. In addition to the
statute, I'd suggest checking the HELOC agreement itself for security
provisions.

Sincerely,

Eric

Eric C. Nelsen

SAYRE LAW OFFICES, PLLC

1320 University St

Seattle WA  98101-2837

phone 206-625-0092

fax 206-625-9040

From: wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com
[mailto:wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com
<ailto:wsbapt-owner at lists.wsbarppt.com> ] On Behalf Of Kerry Richards
Sent: Tuesday, July 08, 2014 1:04 PM
To: WSBA RPPT Probate & Trust Discussion Forum
Subject: [WSBAPT] BECU And Estate Claims

Dear Listmates:

A personal representative in an estate in my office recently ran into a
bit of trouble with BECU and I am inquiring of your thoughtful assessment
and advice.

The PR’s mother died, leaving assets and apparently one small and secured
creditor.  The PR is also the sole beneficiary of her mother’s will.  We
filed the probate, secured her appointment as the PR with Nonintervention
powers and also filed the requisite Notice to Creditors.  When she later
went to BECU to establish the Estate’s account and transfer the two or
three various accounts in the CU previously held by her mother, she was
informed the accounts had been confiscated by BECU (about $10,000 worth)
and applied to an outstanding home equity line of credit (HELOC) secured
against her mother’s residence.  This HELOC was not delinquent, not in
default and all payments were up to date.  No creditor’s claim had been
filed either at the time of the confiscation or at this writing.

When demand was made of the BECU Estate Servicing Department they simply
indicated they have statutory authority in the form of a lien over all
deposits with the CU.  (RCW 31.12.416(3) was the citation provided.  While
that statute does provide lien rights to all accounts to the extent of any
obligation owed to the CU, I was under the distinct impressions  firstly
the accounts were no longer owned by the decedent, but rather by her
estate, secondly, the HELOC must be in some kind of default before such
action is warranted, and thirdly, they must file a creditor’s claim with
the estate, before they may confiscate any accounts in the CU.  

Am I incorrect in my analysis?  If I am correct, do I cite the CU into the
probate court and let them explain their conduct or must I file a separate
action against the CU?  At the end of the day, the money is owed (about
$13,000 outstanding), but the real property value far exceeds the HELOC
owing and my client did not envision using cash assets to pay it all at
this time.  Maybe she now should.  My goal is to undue this confiscation
for the least cost and move the estate ahead.  How can this goal best be
achieved? 

Once again, your thoughtful responses are welcome and appreciated. 

Yours truly,

Kerry A. Richards

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