How Do I Open an Estate Account at Flagstar Bank?

Flagstar Bank asks for: Court order appointing the executor or administrator (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) — the deposit agreement permits fiduciary accounts opened "as executors, administrators, or conservators under court orders"; Estate EIN (Employer Identification Number) — the agreement's taxpayer-identification instructions require a valid estate to furnish the legal entity's name and Employer Identification Number, and the Bank may refuse to open any account without a certified TIN; Executor's identifying information — name, address, date of birth; the Bank may also ask to see a driver's license or other identifying documents (federal customer identification requirements in Section 1 of the Terms and Conditions).

Yes. Flagstar Bank opens the account under the estate's Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS — the deceased's Social Security Number cannot be used. Getting the EIN is the first step.

Flagstar Bank's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with Flagstar Bank 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.