How Do I Handle Estate Bank Accounts?

By Chad Foster, Family Law Attorney · Updated July 17, 2026

One of the first practical tasks a personal representative faces is money: the checking account with automatic deposits, the savings the deceased tucked away, and the bills that keep arriving. Handling all of this correctly starts with opening a single account in the estate's name and running the money through it.

Start With Your Letters and an EIN

Before a bank will let you touch estate money, it needs proof that you have the authority to act. That proof is your letters, either letters testamentary if there was a will or letters of administration if there was not. The court issues these documents once you have qualified, which in Washington means taking and filing an oath that you will perform the duties of the role according to law before the letters are issued, under RCW 11.28.170. Where there is no will, the court appoints from a statutory order of priority that begins with the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and moves through next of kin, under RCW 11.28.120. Your letters are what you show the bank to prove you speak for the estate.

You will also need a federal Employer Identification Number, or EIN, for the estate. An estate is treated as its own taxpayer, separate from the deceased and separate from you, so it gets its own number rather than using the decedent's Social Security number. You obtain the EIN from the IRS, and the bank will ask for it when you open the account.

Open a Dedicated Estate Account

With your letters and EIN in hand, open a bank account titled in the name of the estate, something along the lines of "Estate of [Name], [Your Name], Personal Representative." This account becomes the financial hub of the entire administration. Money owed to the deceased flows in, and legitimate estate expenses flow out, all through this one place. Proceeds from selling estate property belong here too, though whether you can sell without a court order depends on the powers the court gave you.

Washington law contemplates exactly this kind of centralization. Among the personal representative's core duties is to collect all debts due the deceased and to manage and settle the estate, under RCW 11.48.010. A dedicated estate account is how you carry out that collection and payment function in an organized, traceable way. When it comes time to account to the beneficiaries or the court, a single clean account tells the story far better than a tangle of transfers.

Setting Up Estate Banking

One clean account tells the whole story (RCW 11.48.010).

1

Get your letters (testamentary or of administration) and a federal EIN; the estate is its own taxpayer.

2

Open one dedicated account titled 'Estate of [Name], [You], Personal Representative.'

3

Consolidate the decedent's probate accounts into it, noting the source of every deposit.

4

Keep estate money strictly separate from your own; commingling invites scrutiny and personal liability.

Consolidate the Decedent's Accounts

Part of gathering the estate is bringing the deceased's scattered probate funds into one place. You contact each bank or credit union where the person held an account, present your letters, and arrange to transfer those balances into the estate account. Consolidating serves two purposes: it stops small accounts from being forgotten, and it puts the estate's cash where you can see it, manage it, and use it to pay valid debts and expenses in the proper order.

As you consolidate, keep notes on where each dollar came from. Documenting the source of every deposit protects you later, because the beneficiaries are entitled to understand how the estate was assembled and spent.

Keep Estate Money Strictly Separate

This next point deserves its own emphasis. Never mix estate funds with your personal money. Do not run estate expenses through your own checking account, do not "borrow" from the estate account, and do not park estate cash in a personal account for convenience. Commingling is one of the fastest ways for a well meaning personal representative to draw scrutiny and expose themselves to personal liability. Every deposit and every payment should move through the estate account so the trail is clean and complete.

Keeping funds separate is not just good hygiene; it reflects your status as a fiduciary handling other people's inheritance. When the money stays in its own account, you can produce a record that shows you handled the estate faithfully.

Watch for Nonprobate Accounts That Skip the Estate

Not every account the deceased owned belongs in your estate account. Some accounts are designed to pass directly to a named person at death and never enter the probate estate at all. A payable-on-death bank account and a joint bank account with right of survivorship are both defined by Washington law as nonprobate assets, meaning the right or interest passes on death under the account's own terms rather than under the will, under RCW 11.02.005. When an account has a valid payable-on-death beneficiary or a surviving joint owner, that money generally goes straight to that person, and you as personal representative usually do not collect it into the estate.

This distinction matters because sweeping a payable-on-death account into the estate account would put funds in the wrong hands. Before you consolidate any account, check how it is titled and whether it names a beneficiary, so you route probate money to the estate and leave nonprobate money to pass as intended.

Getting It Right in Snohomish County

Between qualifying for your letters, obtaining an EIN, consolidating the right accounts, and keeping everything separate, the banking side of an estate is very doable, but it rewards care. Sorting probate from nonprobate accounts early prevents most of the headaches that come later.

If you are opening an estate account, untangling which accounts pass through probate, or want to be sure you are handling estate funds the way the law expects, the Law Office of Chad Foster helps Snohomish County personal representatives manage the financial side of probate with confidence. Reach out to talk it through.