How Do I Open an Estate Account at Western Alliance?
Western Alliance's estate-account opening requirements: where the account can be opened, the documents to bring, and the EIN requirement.
Opening an estate account at Western Alliance
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
- Documents and authorizations establishing the fiduciary's authority, at the Bank's discretion -- the deposit agreement's Fiduciary or Agent Account clause: "Bank reserves the right to require such documents and authorizations as it may deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy that the person(s) requesting or directing the withdrawal of funds held in the Account has the authority to withdraw such funds. This applies at the time of Account opening" (in practice, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
- Identity verification for each person associated with the account: name, address, date of birth, taxpayer identification number, and driver's license or other government-issued photo ID -- per the agreement's "Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account" section
- Certified taxpayer identification number (TIN) at account opening -- per the agreement's Tax Information section: "When you open an Account, the Bank is required to obtain ... a certified TIN" (for an estate account, the estate's EIN)
What to know at Western Alliance
Western Alliance Bank publishes no estate-account page and no fiduciary/estate account opening procedure. The sole primary-source support is the Deposit Account Agreement and Disclosure (Effective October 2023), whose Fiduciary or Agent Account clause names estate accounts among the fiduciary accounts the Bank opens and reserves discretion over required authority documents, and whose new-account procedures require identity verification and a certified TIN at opening. Account types, minimum deposit, channels, appointment policy, co-fiduciary signing policy, and timing are all unpublished -- contact Personal Banking Customer Service at 1-888-271-0610 (Monday-Friday 6:00am-6:00pm PT, Saturday 8:00am-2:00pm PT) or a branch in Arizona, California, or Nevada. The nationwide online-only High-Yield Savings Premier account is limited by its Terms and Conditions to individual persons (individual or joint ownership) and is not an estate-account path.
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
Western Alliance's published guidance does not state whether an estate account can be opened online.
Western Alliance asks for: Documents and authorizations establishing the fiduciary's authority, at the Bank's discretion -- the deposit agreement's Fiduciary or Agent Account clause: "Bank reserves the right to require such documents and authorizations as it may deem necessary or appropriate to satisfy that the person(s) requesting or directing the withdrawal of funds held in the Account has the authority to withdraw such funds. This applies at the time of Account opening" (in practice, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration); Identity verification for each person associated with the account: name, address, date of birth, taxpayer identification number, and driver's license or other government-issued photo ID -- per the agreement's "Important Information About Procedures for Opening a New Account" section; Certified taxpayer identification number (TIN) at account opening -- per the agreement's Tax Information section: "When you open an Account, the Bank is required to obtain ... a certified TIN" (for an estate account, the estate's EIN).
Western Alliance's published guidance does not state a co-executor appearance rule. When more than one executor or administrator was appointed, confirm with Western Alliance 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 Western Alliance primary sources (2 pages reviewed). How we research.
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