How to Open a Trust Account at a Bank (Florida Guide)

How to Open a Trust Account, Step by Step

Have a signed trust. The bank opens the account for a trust that already exists. It does not create one.
Get a certification of trust. A short document signed by the trustee that proves the trust exists and who can act for it, without showing who inherits. Keep the full trust with you in case the banker asks for a page.
Decide whether to open a new account or retitle an existing one. A retitled account usually keeps its number, so checks and automatic payments keep working. Ask the bank which it allows.
Bring every trustee and their identification. Banks commonly ask for government ID for each trustee, and some want co-trustees present together.
Settle the tax number. A revocable trust you control usually uses your own Social Security number while you are alive. Confirm what the bank will record, and see our guide to trust tax returns and EINs.

What Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Ally Require

We read each bank’s own deposit agreement, trust forms and estate guides. “Not published” means the bank’s public documents are silent on the point, not that the bank refuses.

Trust account rules at four banks, from each bank’s published documents
Rule	Chase	Bank of America	Wells Fargo	Ally Bank
Trust certification	Chase’s own Chase Certification of Trust	Not published (may refuse documents not on its forms)	Wells Fargo or third-party Certification of Trustee (at a trustee’s death)	Certification of Trust or listed pages of the trust
Open online	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes
One co-trustee can act alone	Not published	Not published	Not published	Yes, any listed trustee
Changing a trustee	Not published	May require closing the account	Closed or retitled at a trustee’s death	Trust/Trustee Maintenance Form
CD penalty waived	To retitle into a living trust, and at the grantor’s death	Not published	At the grantor’s death	Not published
Power of attorney on the account	Not published	Not published	Not published	Not accepted

Each bank has its own page with the quoted rules and links to the documents.

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The Certification of Trust

Florida lets a trustee give a bank a certification of trust instead of the trust instrument. It states that the trust exists and when it was signed, who created it, who the current trustee is, the trustee’s powers, whether the trust can be revoked, whether co-trustees must act together, and how the trust takes title. It does not have to say who inherits.

The certification must state that the trust has not been revoked or amended in a way that makes it wrong, and any trustee may sign it. A bank that relies on it without knowing it is wrong is protected, and it may still ask for the pages of the trust that name the trustee and give the power to act. Some banks, including Chase, use their own certification form.

A Trust Account or a POD Account?

A trust account is owned by the trust now, and your successor trustee manages it if you become unable to, under the trust’s instructions. A payable-on-death account stays in your name and passes to the named beneficiaries at your death, outright. Both avoid probate.

The difference shows up at incapacity and in how the money is paid. Ally, for example, will not accept a power of attorney on a trust account, so the successor trustee is the one who acts. A POD account pays each beneficiary directly, and at Wells Fargo a beneficiary generally must survive all owners to receive anything, so a share can skip a predeceased child’s children. Titling an account “in trust for” someone without trust documents usually creates a POD account rather than a trust account, at Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo alike.

FDIC Insurance on Trust Accounts

The FDIC insures trust deposits at $250,000 for each beneficiary the grantor names, counting at most five, so up to $1,250,000 per grantor at one bank. Payable-on-death accounts and trust accounts at the same bank are added together toward that limit. A beneficiary who inherits only if someone else has already died does not count toward the five.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need a Lawyer to Open a Trust Account?

Not to open the account. You need a valid trust first, and a certification of trust makes the bank appointment easier. Ally says the certification or trust agreement “must be set up outside of Ally Bank and may require the services of an attorney.” The bank does not draft the trust or the certification for you.

Should I Retitle My Account or Name the Trust as POD Beneficiary?

Either can keep the account out of probate. Retitling puts the account in the trust now, so your successor trustee can manage it if you become incapacitated. Naming the trust as payable-on-death beneficiary leaves the account in your name during life and moves it to the trust at death. Some banks do not accept a trust as a POD beneficiary, so ask first.

Does My Trust Account Need Its Own EIN?

Usually not while you are alive and serving as trustee of your own revocable trust. The rules change when the trust becomes irrevocable at your death. Our guide on whether a trust needs a tax return or an EIN walks through it.

How Much Does the FDIC Insure in a Trust Account?

Up to $250,000 for each beneficiary the grantor names, counting at most five, so up to $1,250,000 per grantor at one bank. Payable-on-death accounts and trust accounts at the same bank are added together toward that limit.

What Is a Revocable Trust Account?

A revocable trust account is a bank account owned by your living trust, titled in the name of the trustee of that trust, instead of in your own name. While you are alive you are usually the trustee, so the account works like any other, and a revocable trust you control usually uses your own Social Security number. The account follows the trust’s beneficiaries rather than naming its own, and the FDIC insures it at $250,000 for each beneficiary the trust names, counting at most five. An irrevocable trust account works the same way at the bank, but the trust usually needs its own tax number once it is irrevocable.

What Is a Totten Trust Account?

A Totten trust account is the old name for a bank account titled “in trust for” a named person, and in practice it works as a payable-on-death account. Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo all treat an “in trust for” title without trust documents as a POD account rather than a trust account. The money stays yours during life and passes to the named person at your death, outright and without probate. A POD designation does nothing if you become incapacitated, which is the main reason families retitle accounts into a living trust instead.

What Happens to a Trust Account When the Person Dies?

The account stays in the trust, and the successor trustee named in the trust takes over and manages it under the trust’s instructions, with no probate. The successor trustee brings the bank proof of the death and of the new trustee’s authority, often a certification of trust, and some banks close or retitle the account at a trustee’s death. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, the successor trustee owes duties to the beneficiaries, including notice within 60 days and an accounting at least once a year. The rules on the trust’s tax number also change at that point.

Can a Trustee Withdraw Money From a Trust Account?

A trustee can withdraw money from a trust account, but only for the purposes the trust allows. While the trust is revocable and you are your own trustee, the trustee’s duties are owed to you alone, so taking money out is the same as using your own account. After your death the successor trustee may spend trust money only under the trust’s terms and for the beneficiaries, and every withdrawal shows up in the accounting the beneficiaries are entitled to receive. A trustee who takes trust money for personal use can be ordered by a court to repay it and can be removed.

Common Situations

The trust that owned nothing. A couple signs a revocable trust and never retitles their bank accounts. At the second death the accounts are still in their names, so the trust they paid for does not reach them and the accounts go through probate.

The incapacity that a POD account does not solve. A widower names his daughter as POD beneficiary on every account instead of retitling them. When he develops dementia, the POD designations do nothing, because they take effect only at death. An account owned by his trust would have let her step in as successor trustee.

Sources of Law

Fla. Stat. §736.1017 (annotated) (certification of trust; contents (1)(a) to (h); any trustee may sign (2); statement of no revocation or amendment (3); dispositive terms not required (4); excerpts on request (5); reliance protection (6) and (7)).
12 C.F.R. §330.10 (FDIC coverage of revocable trust accounts; $250,000 per eligible beneficiary up to five; aggregation; contingent beneficiaries excluded).
Treas. Reg. §1.671-4(b)(2)(i)(A) (the trustee of a trust wholly owned by one grantor may furnish the grantor’s name and taxpayer identification number to payors); see also Treas. Reg. §301.6109-1(a)(2).
Bank rules: Chase Deposit Account Agreement (effective 6/14/2026); Bank of America Deposit Agreement and Disclosures (effective May 15, 2026) and Estate Services Client Resource Guide; Wells Fargo Estate Care Center checklist and Deposit Account Agreement; Ally Bank Accounts for Trust FAQs, Trust Account Application, Trust Conversion Request Form and Deposit Agreement. Quotations, page numbers and links are on each bank’s page. Retrieved September 24 and 25, 2026, read again September 28, 2026.

Updated on September 28, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. StepUpLaw is not affiliated with any bank named here. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.

More Guides on Florida Revocable Living Trust

This guide is part of Florida Revocable Living Trust.

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