The trust's bank account and tax ID after a death: what the successor trustee opens, and how

Why the trust needs its own number

During the settlor's life a revocable trust is disregarded for income tax; its income is the settlor's and reports under the settlor's Social Security number. When the settlor dies the trust becomes irrevocable and a separate taxpayer. It files its own return, Form 1041, for income from the date of death forward, and it cannot do that under a dead person's number. The employer identification number, obtained from the IRS on Form SS-4, is the trust's new identity for the bank, the brokerage, the buyer of the house and the tax return.

The application asks for the trust's name and date, the trustee's name and address as the responsible party, the date the trust became irrevocable, and the tax year the trust will use. Most trusts use the calendar year; a §645 election on the first return can let the trust and the estate report together for a time, which is a question for the trust's tax preparer.

Does the successor trustee have access to the existing accounts?

For accounts already titled to the trust, yes — once the bank has seen the death certificate, proof of the successor's authority, and the new employer identification number, the account is retitled to the successor as trustee and continues under the trust's number. For accounts in the settlor's individual name, no: those are not trust property, whatever the trust says about them. They pass to a joint owner, to a payable-on-death beneficiary, or through probate under the pour-over will, and the personal representative, not the trustee, collects them (§733.607).

A successor who is unsure which accounts are which lists every account by how it is titled before calling anyone. That list decides who has authority over what, and whether a probate estate must be opened.

Proving authority: the certification of trust

Banks do not need the whole trust and are not entitled to its dispositive terms. Section 736.1017 lets the trustee furnish a certification of trust: a signed statement that the trust exists and when it was executed, the identity of the settlor, the identity and address of the current trustee, the trustee's powers, whether the trust is revocable and who may revoke it, how cotrustees sign, and how title is to be taken. A recipient may rely on it and may ask for the excerpts that designate the trustee and confer the powers. Together with a certified death certificate and, where the trust requires it, the successor's written acceptance, the certification is what opens the account.

Some institutions have their own certification form; §736.1017 does not require the trustee to use it, but using it shortens the visit.

Opening the account, and what runs through it

The account is opened in the name of the trust — the trust's title and date, and the successor as trustee — under the new employer identification number, and every trust dollar moves through it from that day: the balances swept from the retitled accounts, the sale proceeds, the income, the bills, the distributions. Section 736.0810 requires the trustee to keep trust property separate from the trustee's own, and the accounting the qualified beneficiaries will receive under §736.08135 is, in practice, the statements of this account with the schedules built around them.

Brokerage accounts follow the same path with the same documents; the brokerage will also want the date-of-death values it already holds to be confirmed, because the income tax basis of most inherited securities is set at that date.

When a bank refuses

Refusals usually come from a missing document — an old address on the certification, an acceptance the trust required and the successor never signed, a death certificate copy rather than a certified one — or from a branch that has not seen a certification before. Section 736.1016 protects the institution that deals with a trustee in good faith, and §736.1017 makes a person who refuses a certification in bad faith liable for the resulting costs; both are useful to cite politely, and neither is as useful as the missing document.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions

Does a Florida trust need an EIN after the settlor dies?

Generally yes. A revocable trust reports under the settlor's Social Security number during life; once it becomes irrevocable at death it is a separate taxpayer, obtains an employer identification number on Form SS-4, and files Form 1041 for its income from the date of death forward. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can a successor trustee access the settlor's bank accounts after death?

Only the accounts titled to the trust, after the bank has the death certificate, a certification of trust under §736.1017 and the trust's employer identification number. Accounts in the settlor's individual name are not trust property; they pass by survivorship, by designation, or through probate under §733.607.

What does a bank need from a successor trustee in Florida?

A certified death certificate, a certification of trust under §736.1017 (or the excerpts that name the trustee and confer the powers), the successor's written acceptance where the trust requires one, the trust's employer identification number, and identification for the trustee.

Does the trust need a separate bank account?

Yes in practice. Section 736.0810 requires the trustee to keep trust property separate from the trustee's own, and the annual accounting under §736.08135 is built from the trust account's records.

General information about Florida law, not legal advice.