EIN for Irrevovable Trust

[mitchden1]

My dad died in March 2022. He had an revocable trust account at his brokerage company and I was the trustee. Upon his death, I obtained an EIN and the revocable trust was converted to an irrevocable trust. I then sold all the assets. I closed the irrevocable trust account several months after I sold the assets and I'll pay the taxes due on the capital gains (after the step-up). If he receives any checks in the future, how can I cash the check(s)? Do I have to open a checking account using his EIN and deposit the check? How would I then cash the check? Thank you.

[NCperson]

@mitchden1 - tecnically, you would really need the EIN to have a bank account made out in its name with the Administrator (presumably you?) signing the application. Some of those checks could be taxable income to the Trust. 

HOWEVER, the 'dirty little secret' is that the largest banks are so automated, it is unlikely they are going to verify who the check is made out to (assuming you deposit via your smartphone bank app or at an ATM); more likely the teller is going to check in a branch.   So while not technically the correct way to go, you could avoid all the 'hassle' if you are at the right bank and just deposit it into your personal bank account and then distribute to beneficiaries as necessary.  But I didn't tell you that 😊