To open an estate account at a bank, schedule an appointment with a banker who handles fiduciary accounts and bring four things: a certified copy of the death certificate, the court-issued letters appointing you as executor or administrator, an Employer Identification Number (EIN) issued to the estate by the IRS, and your own government-issued photo ID. The account is titled in the estate’s name, kept entirely separate from your personal money, and typically takes one to two business days of internal bank review before it is fully active.
The Four Documents to Gather First
A Certified Death Certificate
Order certified copies from the vital records office in the county or state where the person died. Banks require an original certified copy with the official seal, not a photocopy. Fees generally range from about $5 to $25 per copy. Order more than you think you need. Insurance companies, other banks, and government agencies will each want their own original, and running back for additional copies slows everything down.
Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
The probate court issues Letters Testamentary when there is a will and Letters of Administration when there isn’t. Either document formally appoints you as the estate’s personal representative, and it is the single most important piece of paper for the bank because it proves your legal authority to act for the estate. You receive the letters after the court validates the will or grants your petition to administer the estate.
Banks pay attention to how recently the court certified these letters. Some reject letters older than 60 days. Others accept them for up to six months. If yours are getting stale, return to the probate court and ask for a freshly certified copy with a current date. Call the bank before your appointment and ask what its cutoff is.
An EIN for the Estate
An estate is its own entity for tax purposes and needs a federal Employer Identification Number separate from the deceased person’s Social Security number. You can get one for free through the IRS website in minutes.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number On the application, select “Estate” as the entity type, list yourself as the responsible party, and enter the legal name as “Estate of [Decedent’s Full Name].” The IRS assigns the number immediately. Don’t pay a third-party website for this; the IRS charges nothing.
Your Own Photo ID
Federal rules require the bank to verify the identity of anyone opening an account. Under the Customer Identification Program, you’ll need unexpired government-issued identification with a photograph, such as a driver’s license or passport.2eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks Bring a mailing address for the estate as well, so statements and tax forms go to the right place.
Booking the Appointment and Signing the Signature Card
Schedule the appointment rather than walking in. Most banks route estate account requests to a specialist or senior banker familiar with fiduciary accounts, and that person may not be available on demand. At the appointment, the banker will physically inspect the letters, checking for the court’s original embossed seal and confirming the certification date falls within the bank’s accepted window.
You’ll sign a signature card, which is the contract that establishes the account terms and grants you authority to deposit and withdraw funds. The account is titled in the estate’s name, typically “Estate of [Decedent’s Full Name],” followed by the EIN. Expect a 24- to 48-hour internal review before the account is fully operational. Once approved, you receive an account number and can order checks printed with the estate’s legal name.
If the will names more than one executor, the bank will generally require all co-executors to sign the signature card. Whether each future transaction needs every signature or just one varies by institution, so ask upfront. Logistical friction between co-executors is one of the most common sources of delay in estate administration.
Why the Deceased’s Existing Accounts Are Frozen
When a bank learns an account holder has died, it typically freezes all individually held accounts. No one can withdraw funds, write checks, or use debit cards on those accounts until a court-appointed representative presents proper documentation. Joint accounts are the main exception: a surviving co-owner usually retains full access without interruption.
This freeze is why gathering paperwork quickly matters. Bills keep arriving, and some debts accrue interest or late fees. Until the estate account is open and you can begin moving frozen funds into it, there is no legitimate way to pay the estate’s obligations. If the deceased held accounts at the same bank where you plan to open the estate account, the consolidation is usually faster because the transfer happens internally.
Accounts That Won’t Flow Into the Estate Account
Not every account the deceased owned belongs in the estate account. Accounts with a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death designation pass directly to the named beneficiary when that person presents a death certificate to the financial institution. Life insurance proceeds and retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs also go straight to their designated beneficiaries and bypass probate. The institution holding those funds will deal with the named beneficiary separately.
Executors sometimes assume they need to collect every dollar the deceased had. Trying to claim money that belongs to a named beneficiary can create unnecessary conflict and legal exposure. Before you start consolidating, review each account to see whether it carries a beneficiary designation. If it does, that money is not yours to manage.
FDIC Coverage for Estate Funds
Estate accounts at banks carry FDIC insurance, but the calculation differs from a standard personal account. The FDIC insures estate deposits at $250,000 per eligible beneficiary, up to a maximum of $1,250,000 when five or more beneficiaries are named.3FDIC. Trust Accounts For most estates the standard $250,000 limit is more than enough. If you’re administering a large estate and the balance will exceed that at any point, count the beneficiaries to determine your actual coverage, and consider splitting funds across institutions.
Using the Account Without Commingling
Once the account is active, start transferring the deceased person’s individually held balances into it. For accounts at the same bank, this is usually instantaneous once you provide the estate account number. For accounts elsewhere, you’ll initiate a wire transfer or deposit checks made payable to the estate.
Run every estate expense through the estate account. Use the printed checks rather than debit cards where possible, because checks create the paper trail probate courts expect. Monthly statements become part of the estate’s financial record and will support the accounting you file with the court.
Keeping estate money completely separate from your personal finances is not optional. Mixing funds, even briefly, is called commingling, and it is one of the fastest ways for an executor to face legal trouble. Courts can hold an executor personally liable for losses from mismanagement, reduce or eliminate the executor’s compensation, or remove the executor and appoint a replacement. In extreme cases involving theft or fraud, criminal charges are possible. The estate account exists precisely to prevent these problems, so use it for every estate transaction without exception.