How Do I Open an Estate Account at Northrim Bank?
Northrim Bank's estate-account opening requirements: where the account can be opened, the documents to bring, and the EIN requirement.
Opening an estate account at Northrim Bank
Opening channels
- In a branch
- Available
- Online
- Not available
- By phone
- Not stated
- By mail
- Not stated
- Appointment
- Not stated
- Co-executors
- Not stated
Documents to bring
- Court order appointing you executor or administrator (Letters) -- the Fiduciary Accounts clause of the Personal Deposit Account Agreement permits the account only for fiduciaries named "under court orders" and refers to the bank having no duty to enforce "the terms of the trust or letters"
- Government-issued identification for the fiduciary opening the account -- under the agreement's account-opening procedures notice, Northrim asks for your name, address, date of birth, and "your driver's license or other identifying documents"
- A taxpayer identification number for the account, certified as correct -- the Backup Withholding/TIN Certification clause states Northrim "may refuse to open your Account" without the appropriate TIN, though it can defer backup withholding if you certify you have applied for one
What to know at Northrim Bank
Northrim publishes no estate-account product page, no fiduciary-account checklist, and no estate-specific minimum deposit, appointment rule, Letters-recency window, or co-fiduciary signing rule -- the facts here come from the Personal Deposit Account Agreement and the online account-opening pages. The Fiduciary Accounts clause is the basis for offered: an account "may be opened and maintained by a person or persons named as a trustee under a written trust agreement, or as executors, administrators, or conservators under court orders," with Northrim disclaiming any trustee role or duty to monitor the letters. Online is excluded by Northrim's own documentation of its online application: the landing page scopes online opening to personal checking and savings accounts, the FAQ offers only Individual or Joint ownership ("If you will be the only person to have ownership on this account select Individual. If you want to add a co-owner to the account, select Joint."), and the hosted application (finInstKey b125200934, Northrim's routing number) defines profile flows for Individual, Joint, and Business applicants only -- no estate or fiduciary ownership type. For account types outside the online flow, Northrim's Open an Account page says "Give us a call or stop by one of our branches to get started" and "We don't yet have full online account opening capability for this type of account. However, we can get the process started for you over the phone" -- the branch is the documented opening channel, and the phone is documented only as a way to START the process, so byPhone is recorded as unclear rather than a completing channel. The TIN table in the deposit agreement (Individual, Joint, UTMA, Informal Revocable Trust) does not list an estate account, so whether Northrim requires the estate's EIN in hand before opening -- as opposed to a certification that one has been applied for -- is unclear; the agreement itself allows deferral when "you certify that you do not have a TIN but have applied for one," with backup withholding beginning if no certified TIN arrives within 60 days.
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. Northrim Bank states an estate account cannot be opened online. Opening is done in person at a branch.
Northrim Bank asks for: Court order appointing you executor or administrator (Letters) -- the Fiduciary Accounts clause of the Personal Deposit Account Agreement permits the account only for fiduciaries named "under court orders" and refers to the bank having no duty to enforce "the terms of the trust or letters"; Government-issued identification for the fiduciary opening the account -- under the agreement's account-opening procedures notice, Northrim asks for your name, address, date of birth, and "your driver's license or other identifying documents"; A taxpayer identification number for the account, certified as correct -- the Backup Withholding/TIN Certification clause states Northrim "may refuse to open your Account" without the appropriate TIN, though it can defer backup withholding if you certify you have applied for one.
Northrim Bank's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with Northrim 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.
Sources
Data sourced from Northrim Bank primary sources (5 pages reviewed). How we research.
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