When a Borrower Dies: Actions to Take, Mistakes to Avoid

Date:

Dec 9, 2025

Register

When a borrower passes away, lenders face a host of sensitive, complex issues.

Who has authority to act? What happens to automatic payments? Can you offset or freeze accounts? How do successor-in-interest and estate laws apply? Failure to handle these issues properly can lead to regulatory scrutiny, reputational harm, and costly mistakes.

Agenda

December 9, 2025
11:00am - 12:30pm EST

This webinar will walk through the legal, regulatory, and operational requirements that arise when a borrower dies, including federal rules (such as the successor-in-interest mortgage servicing requirements), state probate procedures, deposit account issues, and best practices for handling secured and unsecured debt. Participants will learn practical steps to protect the institution and avoid common errors.

Topics

AFTER THIS WEBINAR YOU’LL BE ABLE TO:

  • Describe the immediate actions to take after you receive notice that a borrower has died
  • Understand your institution’s setoff rights and what other parties may be held liable for repayment
  • Explain the successor-in-interest rules, including limitations under the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act
  • Handle automatic payments, defaults, accelerations, and workout options
  • Identify what steps to take when a probate estate is opened and or is not opened
Speaker(s)

Shelli Clarkston
Spencer Fane LLP

Shelli Clarkston is an attorney with Spencer Fane LLP where she provides financial institutions with proactive legal counsel on regulatory and compliance matters. She received her law degrees from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and her undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. In addition, she has a master’s degree from Doane University.

Before joining Spencer Fane, Shelli was the Risk and Compliance Officer for a financial services technology platform with one of the world’s largest technology companies. She oversaw the platform’s regulatory compliance and handled all risk-related matters. She also has experience as general counsel for a community bank, where she managed all legal, regulatory, compliance, and corporate matters.

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This informative session is designed for loan officers, deposit operations staff, compliance professionals, auditors, risk officers, and in-house legal counsel and staff.

TAKE-AWAY TOOLKIT

  • Sample procedures for handling and collecting deceased borrowers’ loans
  • Sample successor-in-interest request letter
  • Employee training log
  • Interactive quiz
  • PDF of slides and speaker’s contact info for follow-up questions
  • Attendance certificate provided to self-report CE credits

NOTE: All materials are subject to copyright. Transmission, retransmission, or republishing of any webinar to other institutions or those not employed by your institution is prohibited. Print materials may be copied for eligible participants only.

Fees

Live Webinar - $255

  • Unlimited connections for your institution
  • Available on desktop, mobile & tablet
  • Take-away toolkit
  • Presenter’s contact info for questions

On-Demand Webinar - $255

  • Unlimited & shareable access starting two business days after live stream
  • Available on desktop, mobile & tablet devices 24/7
  • Take-away toolkit
  • Ability to download webinar video
  • Presenter's contact info for questions

Live + On-Demand - $375

Get the best of both and save when you Bundle the Live & On-Demand Webinar registration! This option includes all the items listed above.

**100% surcharge applied to non-members.

Association Contact

Katie Yates
Education Coordinator
o: 317-387-9380
d: 317-333-7162
kyates@indiana.bank