Since assets held in a trust, fiduciary or custodial account do NOT become assets of the bank, none of the property is subjected to the claims of the bank's creditors. Therefore, a bank failure will have no adverse effect on such accounts and those assets will remain the property of the account owner(s).
U.S. government securities—such as Treasury notes, bills, and bonds—have historically been considered extremely safe because the U.S. government guarantees timely payment of interest and principal, backed by its full faith and credit.
Societal and organizational trust significantly reduce bank market risk. A one standard deviation increase in societal trust is associated with a 14.98% decrease in bank idiosyncratic risk and a 19.01% decrease in total risk.
Your trust belongs to you (or your beneficiaries), so the bank's creditors have no claim to it. While it is possible to lose money in a trust account, that would be due to investment changes, not because the bank fails, and most trust account investments are very conservative and relatively safe.
Not all bank accounts are suitable for a Living Trust. If you need regular access to an account, you may want to keep it in your name rather than the name of your Trust. Or, you may have a low-value account that won't benefit from being put in a Trust.
Bank runs occur when a bank faces a loss of confidence, sparking many customers to withdraw their deposits. Massive withdrawals happening simultaneously put the bank's existence at risk. This creates fears and contagion can spread from one institution to another, undermining the banking system as a whole.
Some banks have made headlines for selling customers products they don't need or creating fake accounts for customers in the name of earning a profit. If those behaviors have made you skeptical of banks, you're not alone: 33 percent of unbanked consumers in the FDIC's latest research say that they don't trust banks.
Why have banks stopped doing trust accounts? A lot of banks have discontinued their trust services because of the expertise and time required to offer trusts. Not all banks are equipped to advise clients on the complexities of opening and providing ongoing management for a trust.
Inflation Is Eating Away at Your Funds
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average rate of inflation from April 2023 to April 2024 was 3.4%. If you've been keeping your money in a savings account with a lower yield than the rate of inflation, you should switch over to a higher-yield account.
Cash equivalents are financial instruments that are almost as liquid as cash and are popular investments for millionaires. Examples of cash equivalents are money market mutual funds, certificates of deposit, commercial paper and Treasury bills. Some millionaires keep their cash in Treasury bills.
Bottom line. For the most part, if you keep your money at an institution that's FDIC-insured, your money is safe — at least up to $250,000 in accounts at the failing institution. You're guaranteed that $250,000, and if the bank is acquired, even amounts over the limit may be smoothly transferred to the new bank.
A trust will end when the assets that make up the trust property are exhausted. This can happen from financial mismanagement by the trustee(s), in which case the trustee will likely face probate litigation.
Who can void a trust? Under California Probate Code §17200, a trustee or beneficiary of a trust may petition the court to determine the existence of the trust. This means that any potential, current, or previous beneficiary can file a petition to void a trust, as can a trustee or co-trustee.
In general, creditors cannot access assets in certain types of trusts, like irrevocable trusts, because the trustor no longer owns them. However, if the trust remains revocable, creditors may claim the assets.
Your money is safe in a bank with FDIC insurance
A bank account is typically the safest place for your cash, since banks can be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured institution, per ownership category.
The typical American has $8,000 in the bank, according to the Federal Reserve. That's the median transaction account balance as of 2022, which includes savings, checking, money market, call accounts, and prepaid debit cards. The average balance in those accounts is $62,410.
About the FDIC
Throughout its history, the FDIC has provided insured depositors with prompt access to their funds whenever an FDIC-insured bank or savings association has failed and no insured depositor has ever lost any funds.
The FDIC Covers CDs in the Event of Bank Failure
CDs are treated by the FDIC like other bank accounts and will be insured up to $250,000 if the bank is a member of the agency.
A: Property that cannot be held in a trust includes Social Security benefits, health savings and medical savings accounts, and cash. Other types of property that should not go into a trust are individual retirement accounts or 401(k)s, life insurance policies, certain types of bank accounts, and motor vehicles.
Bank Accounts Held in Trust
After your death, when the person you chose to be your successor trustee takes over, the funds will be transferred to the beneficiary you named in your trust document. No probate will be necessary. To transfer the account to your trust, tell the bank what you want to do.
Accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, 403(b) and certain qualified annuities should not be transferred into your living trust. Doing so would require a withdrawal and likely trigger income tax.