Instant Inheritance

Instant Inheritance moves money out of a deceased person’s bank account and into the case’s FDIC-insured Sunset estate account without corresponding with the bank at all. No username, no password, no branch visit, and no months of estate-department paperwork. Where a normal bank closure takes weeks or months, an approved Instant Inheritance transfer settles in a few business days. Sunset approves an account for Instant Inheritance only after it has independently confirmed the account and the requester’s authority over the estate. Accounts that do not qualify are still closed by Sunset, through Automated Closure.

Instant Inheritance is free, like the rest of Automated Closure. It currently covers deceased-held bank accounts (checking, savings, money market). Retirement, brokerage, and life insurance proceeds continue to move through Automated Closure.

The Flow

Read the account’s eligibility.
If the account is eligible, request a transfer.
Poll the transfer until it reaches completed.
Read the settled funds on the estate account and the case’s closure step.

1. Check Eligibility

Every bank account on a case carries an instant_inheritance summary:

curl "https://api.example.com/v1/cases/{case_id}/bank-accounts/{account_id}"

{
  "data": {
    "id": "01K6BA01AJ9T66HRYE78AN7PQR",
    "institution_name": "Chase Bank",
    "account_type": "checking",
    "status": "open",
    "current_balance": 15230.50,
    "instant_inheritance": {
      "eligibility": "eligible",
      "max_transfer_amount": 15230.50,
      "active_transfer_id": null,
      "transferred_amount": 0,
      "evaluated_at": "2026-08-24T14:02:11Z"
    }
  }
}

Eligibility Values

Value	Meaning
`eligible`	Sunset has approved this account. A transfer may be requested.
`ineligible`	Sunset cannot transfer this account right now.

Sunset re-evaluates every account continuously as searches, documents, and verification complete, so an account may move from ineligible to eligible without any action on your part. max_transfer_amount is null unless the account is eligible.

Most accounts will not be eligible on day one. Poll the account rather than treating ineligible as final: an account that reads ineligible this morning may read eligible this afternoon. Nothing is lost either way, since an account Sunset cannot transfer instantly is closed through the normal Automated Closure path.

2. Request a Transfer

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/v1/cases/{case_id}/transfers" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: idem_01K9IK01AJ0T88HRYE78AN7YYY" \
  -d '{
    "bank_account_id": "01K6BA01AJ9T66HRYE78AN7PQR",
    "amount": 15230.50,
    "notes": "Requested after Letters Testamentary were accepted."
  }'

Omit amount to transfer the full confirmed available balance. Omit estate_account_id to use the case’s primary estate account.

{
  "data": {
    "id": "01K9TR01AJ0T55HRYE78AN7TRF",
    "case_id": "01K5WF06MJ6T99HRYE78AN7XM8",
    "bank_account_id": "01K6BA01AJ9T66HRYE78AN7PQR",
    "estate_account_id": "01K6BA07XJ9T66HRYE78AN7EST",
    "method": "ach_debit",
    "amount_requested": 15230.50,
    "amount_settled": null,
    "status": "requested",
    "requested_at": "2026-08-24T14:10:00Z",
    "expected_settlement_date": "2026-08-27"
  }
}

Requesting a transfer on an account that is not eligible returns 422:

{
  "error": {
    "code": "transfer_not_eligible",
    "message": "This account is not approved for Instant Inheritance."
  }
}

Always send an Idempotency-Key on POST /transfers. A retried request without one can move money twice. Keys expire after 24 hours.

3. Track the Transfer

curl "https://api.example.com/v1/cases/{case_id}/transfers/{transfer_id}"

List every transfer on a case, optionally filtered:

# All transfers, newest first
curl "https://api.example.com/v1/cases/{case_id}/transfers"

# Only transfers still moving
curl ".../cases/{case_id}/transfers?status=in_transit"

# Transfers from one account
curl ".../cases/{case_id}/transfers?bank_account_id=01K6BA01AJ9T66HRYE78AN7PQR"

Transfer Statuses

Status	Meaning
`requested`	The transfer was requested and is queued for review.
`verifying`	Sunset is re-confirming the balance and account state before submitting.
`approved`	Cleared for submission on the next ACH window.
`submitted`	Sent to the ACH network. `trace_number` is populated. Cannot be cancelled.
`in_transit`	Moving between institutions.
`completed`	Funds settled in the estate account. `amount_settled` and `settled_at` are set.
`returned`	The receiving institution returned the debit. See `return_code` and `status_reason`.
`rejected`	Sunset stopped the transfer before submission, usually because a criterion stopped being satisfied.
`cancelled`	Cancelled by the requester before submission.

Return Codes

A returned transfer carries the NACHA return code:

Code	Meaning	What to do
`R01`	Insufficient funds	Re-check the balance and request a smaller amount.
`R02`	Account closed	The account is gone. Fall back to Automated Closure.
`R03`	No account or unable to locate	Re-verify the account and routing numbers.
`R04`	Invalid account number	Re-verify the account number.
`R08`	Payment stopped	The institution stopped the debit. Sunset works the account manually.
`R10`	Customer advises not authorized	Sunset re-submits the authority documentation to the institution.
`R16`	Account frozen	The institution froze the account. Fall back to Automated Closure.
`R20`	Non-transaction account	The account does not support ACH debits.
`R29`	Corporate customer advises not authorized	Applies to business-titled accounts.

A returned transfer never blocks the account: Sunset reverts the account to the normal closure path automatically.

4. Cancel a Transfer

A transfer can be cancelled while its status is requested, verifying, or approved:

curl -X POST "https://api.example.com/v1/cases/{case_id}/transfers/{transfer_id}/cancel" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"reason": "Executor asked us to hold until the sibling dispute is resolved."}'

Once the status is submitted, the transfer is with the ACH network and cannot be stopped. Cancelled transfers stay on the case for audit purposes; transfers are never deleted.

Limits and Safeguards

One in flight per account. A second request while instant_inheritance.active_transfer_id is set returns 422.
Never more than the confirmed balance. amount cannot exceed max_transfer_amount.
Authority is required, always. Sunset does not transfer without verified authority over the estate.
Funds land in the estate account only. Transfers cannot be directed to a personal account. Distribution to beneficiaries happens later, through distributions.

How Transfers Update Existing Resources

Instant Inheritance works with the resources you already read:

The bank account’s status moves to pending_closure when a transfer is submitted and closed when it completes, with closure_method set to instant_inheritance.
instant_inheritance.transferred_amount accumulates the settled total for that account.
The estate account receives a transaction of type estate_deposit on settlement.
The case’s close_accounts closure step advances the same way it does for any other Automated Closure.

Getting Started

Guides

Instant Inheritance Guide

Instant Inheritance

The Flow

1. Check Eligibility

Eligibility Values

2. Request a Transfer

3. Track the Transfer

Transfer Statuses

Return Codes

4. Cancel a Transfer

Limits and Safeguards

How Transfers Update Existing Resources

​Instant Inheritance

​The Flow

​1. Check Eligibility

​Eligibility Values

​2. Request a Transfer

​3. Track the Transfer

​Transfer Statuses

​Return Codes

​4. Cancel a Transfer

​Limits and Safeguards

​How Transfers Update Existing Resources

Instant Inheritance

The Flow

1. Check Eligibility

Eligibility Values

2. Request a Transfer

3. Track the Transfer

Transfer Statuses

Return Codes

4. Cancel a Transfer

Limits and Safeguards

How Transfers Update Existing Resources