Only the trustee — not the beneficiaries — can access the trust checking account. They can write checks or make electronic transfers to a beneficiary, and even withdraw cash, though that could make it more difficult to keep track of the trust's finances. (The trustee must keep a record of all the trust's finances.)
Endorsing the Check
As the trustee or successor trustee, you must endorse the check. Sign your name just as you are identified in the trust document, for example "Jane Doe, Trustee, John Doe Revocable Trust." If another trustee is named, you do not need her signature to make the deposit.
The trustee cannot grant legitimate and reasonable requests from one beneficiary in a timely manner and deny or delay granting legitimate and reasonable requests from another beneficiary simply because the trustee does not particularly care for that beneficiary. Invest trust assets in a conservative manner.
The short answer is yes, a trustee can access trust accounts that were created and funded by the settlor. In fact, one of the primary benefits of creating a trust is that the successor trustee can immediately access trust accounts upon taking over as successor trustee.
The trustee cannot do whatever they want. They must follow the trust document, and follow the California Probate Code. More than that, Trustees don't get the benefits of the Trust. The Trust assets will pass to the Trust beneficiaries eventually.
Answer: No. A thousand times, No. The simplest analysis is that the check is not payable to him, it is payable to the trust.
If the check is made payable to a trust, it must be endorsed by the trustee and you may be on notice of breach of fiduciary duty if you allow the item to be deposited into a personal account. If you don't even have a copy of a certificate of trust or memorandum of trust, you don't know who the trustee even is.
Some of your financial assets need to be owned by your trust and others need to name your trust as the beneficiary. With your day-to-day checking and savings accounts, I always recommend that you own those accounts in the name of your trust.
The trustee usually has the power to retain trust property, reinvest trust property or, with or without court authorization, sell, convey, exchange, partition, and divide trust property. Typically the trustee will have the power to manage, control, improve, and maintain all real and personal trust property.
A Trustee owns the assets in the sense that the Trustee has the sole right, and responsibility, to manage the Trust assets. That includes selling and buying assets. Since the Trustee is the legal owner, the Trustee can exercise his or her power unilaterally with no input required from the Trust beneficiaries.
OWNED BY AN IRREVOCABLE LIFE INSURANCE TRUST
Write a check to the trustee of the trust in an amount to cover the premium The check should be made payable to “[name of the trustee], trustee.” The check should be signed by the insured/settlor who created the trust.
To open a trust account, check the documentation required by the bank where the account will be opened. Although each bank's requirements differ, most require the trust agreement, or document that sets up the trust and appoints the trustee, as well as two pieces of personal identification.
Call your bank and explain that you intend to deposit a check that has been made payable to someone else. Ask what you need to have them write on the back of the check, and be sure to ask if you both need to be present to deposit it.
Estate beneficiaries are simply not allowed to cash or deposit checks made out to the deceased or their estate. As a beneficiary, you receive any assets you're entitled to during or after probate.
In general, a bank should never accept a check payable to the bank unless it is actually receiving the funds, such as a loan payment or TT&L deposit. Someone purchasing a cashiers check should make the check payable to himself or to an employee and then endorse it on the back.
"TTEE" is an abbreviation for the word "trustee." In the case of the certificate of deposit, the trustee is most likely someone charged with taking care of the money until the person it is intended for comes of an age to receive it.
Unless other household members are named on the accounts, nobody has the legal right to endorse checks or draw on the accounts of the deceased until the estate is in probate. Anyone attempting to do so is acting outside the law.
Irrevocable Trusts
An irrevocable trust account is a deposit account titled in the name of an irrevocable trust, for which the owner (grantor/settlor/trustor) contributes deposits or other property to the trust, but gives up all power to cancel or change the trust.
Generally, charities can't pay their trustees for simply being a trustee. Some charities do pay their trustees – they can only do so because it's allowed by their governing document, by the Charity Commission or by the courts.
Whether it is buying, selling, paying, or bartering, the Trustee calls the shots. That's just how Trusts work. The Trustee is the legal owner, meaning he has the right to make ownership decisions.
Only the trustee — not the beneficiaries — can access the trust checking account. They can write checks or make electronic transfers to a beneficiary, and even withdraw cash, though that could make it more difficult to keep track of the trust's finances. (The trustee must keep a record of all the trust's finances.)
While trust documents may permit beneficiaries to take loans from the trust as a type of distribution, the trustee himself cannot take or borrow money from the trust, as it creates a conflict of interest.