How Do I Open an Estate Account at Westamerica Bank?
Westamerica 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 Westamerica Bank
Opening channels
- In a branch
- Not stated
- Online
- Not stated
- By phone
- Not stated
- By mail
- Not stated
Documents to bring
- Valid government-issued photo ID for the fiduciary (deposit agreement: "driver's license or other identifying documents")
- Tax identification number (TIN) for the account (deposit agreement PATRIOT Act section requires a TIN at account opening)
- Court-order documentation of the fiduciary appointment, such as Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (deposit agreement: "Owners for fiduciaries ... may also be asked at account opening ... to provide us with valid documentation of ... court orders")
What to know at Westamerica Bank
The Deposit Agreement affirmatively contemplates estate fiduciary accounts: its "Trust and Other Fiduciary Accounts" section names executors and administrators as fiduciary title-holders, and its definitions include "the executors, administrators, and conservators acting under letters of administration" as account owners. Westamerica publishes no dedicated estate-account page and offers no online deposit-account application for any account type (the only online application on westamerica.com is a third-party credit-card application), so opening channels are not documented; the bank operates over 80 branches in Northern and Central California. Separately, the Investment Management and Trust Services department can itself act as administrator and administer probate (bank-as-fiduciary), which is distinct from an executor opening an estate deposit account.
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
Westamerica Bank's published guidance does not state whether an estate account can be opened online.
Westamerica Bank asks for: Valid government-issued photo ID for the fiduciary (deposit agreement: "driver's license or other identifying documents"); Tax identification number (TIN) for the account (deposit agreement PATRIOT Act section requires a TIN at account opening); Court-order documentation of the fiduciary appointment, such as Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (deposit agreement: "Owners for fiduciaries ... may also be asked at account opening ... to provide us with valid documentation of ... court orders").
Westamerica Bank's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with Westamerica 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 Westamerica Bank primary sources (3 pages reviewed). How we research.
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