General trust information, not a legal or tax opinion. The trust instrument and applicable law control.
Bank accounts may be individually owned, joint, payable on death, custodial, trust-owned, or held by an entity.
Read the governing terms
- The institution's title and contract should be confirmed before deciding whether the account belongs in probate or trust administration.
- A trust separates the governing instrument from the assets it actually owns or receives; both pieces must be reviewed.
- Trustee authority comes from the trust terms and applicable law, not from the title 'trustee' alone.
Confirm funding and authority
- recent statements and signature or ownership records
- payable-on-death, joint-owner, trust, and authorized-signer documents
- the complete trust, amendments, schedules, and certifications
- deeds, assignments, account titles, and beneficiary confirmations showing funding
Administration and exit questions
- Who owns the funds, and who merely has signing authority?
- Which designation was in effect at death?
- Which assets are legally connected to the trust?
- What event activates a successor trustee's authority?
Risks to pause on
- Being an authorized signer is not the same as owning the account or inheriting the balance.
- Signing a trust without completing asset-specific funding steps can leave the intended property outside the plan.