How Do I Open an Estate Account at Fulton Bank?

Fulton Bank's estate-account opening requirements: where the account can be opened, the documents to bring, and the EIN requirement.

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Opening an estate account at Fulton Bank

Where to open it

Not stated — contact Fulton Bank

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

Court order or other document establishing the fiduciary relationship (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) — Fulton Bank's deposit account Rules and Regulations reserve the right to review and retain a copy of the document that established the fiduciary relationship, and require any personal representative to be designated as such on bank records
Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID (per Fulton Bank's general account-opening requirements; an estate account would use the estate's EIN as its taxpayer ID)
Driver's license or other government-issued ID (per Fulton Bank's general account-opening requirements)

What to know at Fulton Bank

Fulton Bank publishes no dedicated estate-account page or executor account-opening procedure. Its own consumer deposit disclosures, however, name estates as an account-owner category on standard checking and savings products: the Personal Checking Accounts info sheet and Statement Savings guide both carve out fee-waiver rules for "account owners without a birthdate (ex. estates, trusts)" — estate-owned checking accounts avoid the monthly maintenance fee only with a $1,000+ daily balance or $1,000+ monthly ACH direct deposits, and estate-owned Statement Savings only with a $100+ daily balance; estate/trust owners are also excluded from foreign-ATM rebates and age-based waivers. The Rules and Regulations for Deposit Accounts (Section 14, Fiduciaries and Agents) name personal representatives among fiduciaries who must be designated on bank records and whose establishing court order the bank may review and retain. No channel, appointment, co-fiduciary, EIN-timing, or Letters-recency requirement for opening is published; the general Statement Savings minimum opening deposit is $0 in a financial center and $25 online, but whether an estate can use the online channel is not stated. Customer service: 1-800-385-8664.

Estate services: 1-800-385-8664View Fulton Bank's guidance

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

Fulton Bank's published guidance does not state whether an estate account can be opened online.

Fulton Bank asks for: Court order or other document establishing the fiduciary relationship (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) — Fulton Bank's deposit account Rules and Regulations reserve the right to review and retain a copy of the document that established the fiduciary relationship, and require any personal representative to be designated as such on bank records; Social Security Number or Taxpayer ID (per Fulton Bank's general account-opening requirements; an estate account would use the estate's EIN as its taxpayer ID); Driver's license or other government-issued ID (per Fulton Bank's general account-opening requirements).

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