How Do I Open an Estate Account at KeyBank?

Opening channels

In a branch

Available

Online

Not stated

By phone

Not stated

By mail

Not stated

Appointment

Not stated

Co-executors

Not stated

Documents to bring

• Certified court appointment papers naming you as executor or administrator of the estate (Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration) — Deposit Account Agreement Sec. 2 names this as the estate-account opening requirement
• Estate EIN (IRS-issued employer identification number), certified on the account per the Taxpayer Identification Number certification in Deposit Account Agreement Sec. 2
• Original or certified copy of the death certificate (KeyBank's authority-validation step)
• Government-issued photo ID with photo and signature (KeyBank's standard in-branch account-opening identification requirement)
• Any required minimum opening deposit (Deposit Account Agreement Sec. 2 lists "any required minimum deposit" among opening requirements; no estate-specific amount is published)

Steps at KeyBank

1. 1
   Obtain the estate's EIN from the IRS. KeyBank's guidance states estate accounts can only be created after the estate has an IRS-issued employer identification number.
2. 2
   Gather the opening documents: certified court appointment papers naming you as executor or administrator, an original or certified copy of the death certificate, and your government-issued photo ID.
3. 3
   Schedule a banker appointment at a KeyBank branch (key.com/settle, or call 1-800-KEY2YOU / 1-800-539-2968). The account-settlement flow that precedes an estate account is handled with a banker: "Call us or visit a branch by appointment to get started."
4. 4
   At the appointment, the banker validates your authority from the death certificate and appointment papers, then opens the estate account. Certify the estate's Taxpayer Identification Number (the EIN) on the account and fund any required minimum opening deposit.

What to know at KeyBank

Opening the estate's own account is governed by Section 2 (Opening Your Account) of the KeyBank Deposit Account Agreement (effective July 1, 2026): an estate account is a fiduciary account, and the named requirement is certified court appointment papers naming the executor or administrator. On the EIN timing there is a mild tension between two KeyBank sources: the bank's own estate-account article states categorically that "Estate accounts can only be created after the estate has an IRS-issued tax identification number called an employer identification number (EIN)," while DAA Sec. 2's general policy is "not to open an Account unless you certify your Taxpayer Identification Number or have applied for a Taxpayer Identification Number" — so a banker may be able to open with an EIN application pending. No recency window for the Letters is published as a number of days; KeyBank's account-settlement PDF says documents "must be executed or issued within the appropriate time allowed by state law." Channel facts KeyBank does not state are left unclear: no page says an estate account can or cannot be opened online, by phone, or by mail. Directionally, the savings FAQ states "Online account opening is available for opening individually owned accounts" — an estate account is not individually owned — but KeyBank publishes no estate-specific channel statement, so online is recorded as unclear rather than false. Account types come from KeyBank's estate-account article: a checking account is the useful base, "but your estate's needs may call for adding a savings or money market account, too." KeyBank states hiring an attorney is not required to settle its accounts, and that it cannot accept a will as proof of fiduciary authority.