How Do I Open an Estate Account at TD Bank?
TD 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 TD Bank
Account type: checking, savings, money market, certificate of deposit
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
- Estate tax identification number -- the agreement's account-opening ("Know Your Customer") section says TD will ask for "your business name, business address, and tax identification number" when the account is opened, and its TIN section separately requires "a valid and certified Taxpayer Identification Number"
- Name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number of each Authorized Signer; TD "may ask you to provide identifying documents or other information that will allow us to identify you or individuals associated with you" (its business account-documents page lists "a valid driver's license, state-issued ID or passport to validate your identity")
- Authority documentation in a form satisfactory to TD -- the agreement lets TD "rely on the certificates, resolutions, signature cards and other documents you deliver to us in connection with the Account, which we may require to be in form and substance satisfactory to us"; no TD Bank, N.A. (US) source names Letters Testamentary/of Administration or a death certificate for account OPENING (as opposed to claiming the decedent's accounts)
What to know at TD Bank
TD Bank, N.A. publishes no US page describing how an executor or administrator opens an estate account -- no channel list, no document checklist, no appointment rule, no Letters recency window, no minimum deposit, and no timeline specific to estates (sweep of td.com/us and tdbank.com verified 2026-07-16; the US Help Center carries no death or estate topics at all). What is verifiable is the governing framework: the Business Deposit Account Agreement's "You" definition names an estate as an entity that "opens an Account and in whose name an Account is maintained on our records," so an estate-titled account at TD is a business-purpose account under that agreement (which also defines "Store" as a branch office), covering business checking, savings, money market, and CD types. The executor-facing estate materials that surface on td.com -- the Executor Assist Kit, the Executor Quick-Start Checklist, and the One TD Estates Centre (1-866-235-1974) -- are TD Canada Trust content (provincial death certificates, probate arranged with a lawyer) and do not govern TD Bank, N.A. US accounts. US intake for estate matters runs through Customer Service at 1-888-751-9000 (24/7) and the Stores.
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
TD Bank's published guidance does not state whether an estate account can be opened online.
TD Bank asks for: Estate tax identification number -- the agreement's account-opening ("Know Your Customer") section says TD will ask for "your business name, business address, and tax identification number" when the account is opened, and its TIN section separately requires "a valid and certified Taxpayer Identification Number"; Name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number of each Authorized Signer; TD "may ask you to provide identifying documents or other information that will allow us to identify you or individuals associated with you" (its business account-documents page lists "a valid driver's license, state-issued ID or passport to validate your identity"); Authority documentation in a form satisfactory to TD -- the agreement lets TD "rely on the certificates, resolutions, signature cards and other documents you deliver to us in connection with the Account, which we may require to be in form and substance satisfactory to us"; no TD Bank, N.A. (US) source names Letters Testamentary/of Administration or a death certificate for account OPENING (as opposed to claiming the decedent's accounts).
TD Bank's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with TD 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 TD Bank primary sources (4 pages reviewed). How we research.
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