How Do I Open a Trust Account at My Bank?

A trust account holds assets that were titled to a trust before death, and the successor trustee takes control of it under the trust document. An estate account is opened after death by the court-appointed executor or administrator, under the estate's own EIN, for assets that were not in a trust and pass through probate. A family with a funded revocable trust may need only the trust account; a family with a will, or no will, opens an estate account.

It depends on the bank. Of the 24 banks in this guide whose published terms say they title deposit accounts to a revocable living trust, 3 state that a trust account can be opened or retitled online, 6 state that it cannot, and 15 do not say. Each bank's page states what it accepts.

Banks differ. 5 of the 24 banks here state that they accept a certification of trust — a short summary signed by the trustee that names the trust and the trustees without disclosing the beneficiaries — either alone or as an alternative to the full instrument. Each bank's page names which it accepts.

While the grantor is alive, a revocable living trust is usually reported under the grantor's Social Security Number; 1 of the 24 banks here state that the account is opened under it. After the grantor's death the trust becomes irrevocable and needs its own EIN — 1 of the 8 banks with a researched successor-trustee procedure state that requirement. The free EIN application prepares IRS Form SS-4 for a trust.