Property ownership has no bearing on capital credits, and it does not matter who paid the electric bills. Capital credits are owned by the individual whose name appeared on the electric account.
Estate Capital Credits
Capital credits allocated to a deceased member cannot be transferred to an active account.
Lump-sum estate payments are not issued to a surviving member of a joint account. When 1 member of a joint account is deceased, capital credits remain in the surviving member’s capital credit account. Those credits are returned only when general capital credit refunds are issued.
Once the surviving member becomes the sole account holder, a beneficiary may be designated.
To apply for an estate capital credit retirement, the following requirements must be met and documentation must be provided:
- The membership must be closed
- If the membership was joint, both members must be deceased
- A written request to claim capital credits must be submitted
- A copy of the death certificate must be provided
- Legal documentation showing beneficiary authority must be provided, such as documentation identifying an heir, trustee or executor
- A valid photo ID of the claimant must be provided
- A current phone number for the claimant must be included
Capital credits allocated to a deceased member may be refunded without waiting for a general retirement. These estate refunds are not issued automatically. A request must be submitted by a representative of the estate along with an application and a copy of the death certificate. Any refund issued is made payable to the estate and is reduced to reflect the early retirement of the capital credits.
If the membership was held jointly, both members must be deceased before an estate refund may be issued.