To set up an estate account, you need three things in this order: court-issued letters proving you have authority to act for the estate, an Employer Identification Number from the IRS, and a bank willing to open a checking account in the estate’s name. Bring those documents plus a certified death certificate and your own ID to the bank, and the account can usually be opened in a single visit. It functions as an ordinary checking account, but it exists for one purpose: to hold every dollar that belonged to the deceased person’s probate estate and to pay every debt and distribution out of it.
First, Confirm You Need One
Plenty of assets pass to people without ever touching probate, and those assets do not belong in an estate account. Life insurance proceeds go to the named beneficiary. A 401(k) or IRA with a beneficiary on file transfers automatically. A joint bank account with survivorship rights belongs to the surviving owner the moment the other owner dies. Payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts work the same way. Anything held in a living trust skips probate entirely.
If what remains after those transfers is small enough, most states let you skip probate through a small estate affidavit. The dollar cutoffs run from roughly $10,000 to $275,000 depending on the state, and most states leave real estate out of that calculation. There is usually a 30 to 45 day waiting period after the death before the affidavit becomes available. If the estate qualifies, an inheritor can often walk into the bank with the affidavit and a death certificate and claim the funds directly, no court letters and no estate account required.
If the probate estate is larger than the small-estate threshold, or if it includes real estate that has to be sold or transferred, you will need the full setup below.
Get Court Authority
No bank will open an estate account on your say-so. You need a court document showing you are the person legally authorized to handle the deceased person’s finances. If there is a will naming you as executor, the court issues Letters Testamentary. If there is no will, the court appoints an administrator (usually a spouse or next of kin) and issues Letters of Administration. Both documents do the same job at the teller window.
You get either one by filing a petition with the probate court in the county where the deceased person lived. Bring a certified copy of the death certificate, the will if one exists, and your personal ID. The court schedules a hearing, a judge confirms the will and confirms you are suitable to serve, and the letters get issued. Ask for several certified copies. Every bank, brokerage, and government agency you deal with will want its own original, and you do not want to keep going back to the clerk.
The full probate process usually takes six to nine months, but the initial hearing that produces your letters happens much sooner, and that is all you need to start opening the account.
Get an EIN From the IRS
An estate is a separate taxpayer from the person who died, so it needs its own tax ID. That’s the Employer Identification Number, and the bank will ask for it before opening the account.
The fastest route is the online application at IRS.gov/EIN. Answer a short set of questions and the number is issued immediately. The tool runs Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern, Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. You cannot save partway through, and the session times out after 15 minutes of inactivity, so have the deceased person’s Social Security number and your own information in front of you before you start. Only one EIN can be issued per responsible party per day.1Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
Only the appointed executor or administrator, or a third-party designee they formally authorize, can apply. On the form, select “estate” as the entity type and enter the deceased person’s Social Security number where prompted.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
Open the Account at the Bank
Most banks require an in-person visit for estate accounts. Bring:
- A certified death certificate.
- Your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
- The estate’s EIN.
- Your own driver’s license or passport.
The bank will have you fill out account-opening forms naming the estate as the account holder and you as the authorized signer. The account title follows a specific format that keeps it legally distinct from your personal accounts: your name, your role, and the estate’s name. For example, “Jane Smith, Executor, Estate of John Smith, Deceased.” Some banks require an initial deposit to activate the account.
You do not have to use the deceased person’s bank, but doing so can shorten the wait to move their existing funds into the new estate account, because the bank already has the records on file. If you shop around, compare monthly fees and transaction charges, ask whether staff have experience with estate accounts, and confirm online banking access. You will be writing a lot of checks and tracking a lot of transactions over the next several months.
What Goes In, What Stays Out
Once the account is open, funnel every probate asset through it. That includes cash from the deceased person’s individual bank accounts, proceeds from selling personal property, rent from real estate owned by the estate, dividends and interest on estate investments, and any other income arriving after the date of death. The estate account becomes the single hub for money flowing in and money flowing out.
Non-probate assets stay out. Life insurance proceeds paid to a named beneficiary go directly to that person and never touch the estate account. Same for jointly held accounts, retirement funds with named beneficiaries, and anything held in trust. Depositing those funds into the estate account creates confusion and can delay the distributions the beneficiaries are entitled to receive directly.
Keep Estate Money Separate
Do not deposit estate funds into your personal account, and do not use estate money for personal expenses, even briefly, even if you plan to pay it back. Mixing the two is called commingling, and courts take it seriously. A beneficiary or creditor who objects can ask the court to void your transactions, remove you as executor, or order you to personally compensate the estate for losses. If commingling shades into theft, criminal charges are possible.
Keep detailed records from the first deposit forward. Save receipts, bank statements, and correspondence. The probate court will eventually require a full accounting of everything that moved through the account, and gaps invite objections from beneficiaries. A simple spreadsheet noting the date, amount, payee, and purpose of every transaction is enough, and it will save you real trouble at the end.
Tax Matters Tied to the Account
The estate account is where the tax dollars flow. You will file the deceased person’s final Form 1040 covering income from January 1 through the date of death, with any balance paid from the account and any refund deposited into it.3Internal Revenue Service. File the Final Income Tax Returns of a Deceased Person If the estate itself earns $600 or more in gross income after the date of death (interest on the estate account counts), you also file Form 1041, the fiduciary income tax return.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1041 and Schedules A, B, G, J, and K-1 (2025) File Form 56 with the IRS at the start to formally establish that you are the estate’s fiduciary, so IRS correspondence comes to you.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (Rev. December 2024)
Closing the Account When the Estate Wraps Up
Once debts are paid, tax returns are filed, and the court approves your final accounting, distribute what remains to the beneficiaries and get a signed receipt from each one. Those receipts protect you against later claims and are typically required before the court will grant your final discharge. After the last distribution clears, close the estate account at the bank and file a second Form 56 with the IRS to terminate the fiduciary relationship.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56 (Rev. December 2024) With that filing and the court’s discharge order, your job as executor is finished.