How Do I Open an Estate Account at BMO?
BMO's estate-account opening requirements: where the account can be opened, the documents to bring, and the EIN requirement.
Opening an estate account at BMO
Opening channels
- In a branch
- Not stated
- Online
- Not stated
- By phone
- Not stated
- By mail
- Not stated
- Appointment
- Not stated
- Co-executors
- Not stated
Documents to bring
- Documentation of the fiduciary's appointment and authority -- the BMO Handbook has the fiduciary "represent and warrant that... you are a duly appointed and acting fiduciary" and reserves the right "to require such documents or authorizations as we deem reasonably necessary to satisfy us" that the person directing the account has such authority; no BMO source names Letters Testamentary/of Administration or a death certificate for account OPENING specifically (as opposed to claiming the decedent's accounts)
- Designation of Authorized Signers in a form satisfactory to BMO -- required "for any Account in the name of a Company, trust or other non-consumer customer"
What to know at BMO
BMO Bank N.A. publishes no US page describing how an executor or administrator opens an estate account -- no channel list, no document checklist, no appointment rule, no Letters recency window, no minimum deposit, and no timeline specific to estates (sweep of bmo.com/en-us verified 2026-07-16; candidate estate-services URLs return hard 404s). What is verifiable is the governing framework: the BMO Handbook (US Deposit Account Agreement) treats "estate Accounts" as a category of BMO deposit accounts (they are excluded from the Monthly Combined Balance's "Eligible Deposit Accounts"), its pass-through deposit insurance provision contemplates an account opened "as an agent, nominee, guardian, executor, custodian or in some other capacity for the benefit of others," and its Section 10 trust/fiduciary provisions govern such accounts. BMO Alto -- the nationwide online-only brand -- affirmatively cannot hold fiduciary accounts, and its own executor death-claim path pays out by check "made payable to the estate," which the executor must deposit into an estate account. The executor-facing estate collateral that surfaces on bmo.com (Executor's Task List PDFs, bmo.com/estate, 1-855-648-0643) is BMO Canada / BMO Trust Company content (provincial probate, Letters Probate) and does not govern BMO Bank N.A. US accounts. US intake for estate matters runs through customer service at 1-888-340-2265, branches, and BMO Wealth Management at 1-800-472-0060.
This guide summarizes each bank's published estate-account requirements and is not legal or banking advice. Requirements may vary by state and account type.
Frequently Asked Questions
BMO's published guidance does not state whether an estate account can be opened online.
BMO asks for: Documentation of the fiduciary's appointment and authority -- the BMO Handbook has the fiduciary "represent and warrant that... you are a duly appointed and acting fiduciary" and reserves the right "to require such documents or authorizations as we deem reasonably necessary to satisfy us" that the person directing the account has such authority; no BMO source names Letters Testamentary/of Administration or a death certificate for account OPENING specifically (as opposed to claiming the decedent's accounts); Designation of Authorized Signers in a form satisfactory to BMO -- required "for any Account in the name of a Company, trust or other non-consumer customer".
BMO's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with BMO whether all must attend.
An estate account is a bank account titled to the estate itself — not to the person who died and not to the executor personally. The court-appointed executor or administrator opens it to deposit money owed to the estate (final paychecks, refunds, proceeds from closed accounts), pay the estate's debts and expenses, and distribute what remains. Checks made out to "the Estate of" can only be deposited into an account titled this way.
The estate is its own taxpayer, separate from the person who died. Banks open estate accounts under the estate's Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, not the deceased's Social Security Number. The free EIN application prepares IRS Form SS-4 for the estate.
Sources
Data sourced from BMO primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.
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