Does Chime Offer an Estate Account?
Chime does not open estate accounts. What its published terms say, and where the estate's account can be opened instead.
Estate accounts at Chime
What to know at Chime
Chime does not open estate accounts, and its partner-bank deposit agreements leave no room for one: the Checking Account may be owned and titled only in the name of one person, and it cannot be titled jointly, by any organization, POD, or "In Trust For" -- an account titled "Estate of John Doe" is an organizational/fiduciary title the agreement excludes on its face. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank; the deposit accounts sit at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., but only through the Chime consumer platform, which exposes no fiduciary, entity, or estate account features. The settlement shape is claim-and-exit: the executor reports the death to Member Services (in-app chat or 1-844-244-6363), submits the requested documents, and Chime closes the decedent's account (see deathClaimProcess) -- the estate's proceeds must land somewhere OTHER than Chime. The receiving side is closed off too, the trapped-check pattern: the Bancorp Deposit Account Agreement's Mobile Check Deposit terms bar depositing "Checks payable to any person or entity other than you (i.e., third party checks)," so a check payable to the estate cannot be photo-deposited into anyone's personal Chime account. (Unlike Cash App's terms, Chime's do not name "estate checks" expressly -- the exclusion operates through the third-party-check bar, since an estate check is payable to an entity other than the member.) Chime's Joint Checking Deposit Agreement (individuals only, JTWROS) points the same direction: "It is the intention of the Account Holders that no deceased Account Holder's estate or heirs shall have any claim to the Account funds once the Bank has paid the surviving Account Holder(s)." The executor needs an estate account already open at a real depository institution before any Chime payout arrives.
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
No. Chime's published terms do not allow an account titled to an estate.
At any bank that offers estate accounts. The account belongs to the estate, not to the deceased, so it does not need to be where the deceased banked.
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 Chime primary sources (5 pages reviewed). How we research.
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