We are not aware of any specific account titling requirements for a land trust operating under a d/b/a name. One possible way to title the account is John Doe Land Trust, by [Corporate Fiduciary] as Trustee, D/B/A John Doe Rental Properties.
Also, we recommend obtaining the land trust’s assumed name certificate issued by a county clerk to confirm the d/b/a name, as this certificate is required by Illinois law.
We also note that for trust accounts, the IRS requires financial institutions to establish name controls using the first four letters of a customer’s name, as in “Name: Michael T. Azalea Revocable Trust / Name Control: Michael T Azalea Rvoc Tr,” and we believe this name control requirement also would apply to a land trust.
For resources related to our guidance, please see below:
- 805 ILCS 405/1 (business operating under an assumed name must register with the county clerk)
- IRS Publication 1586, page 17 (titling of trust account)
- IBA Compliance Q&A on Titling an Account for a Land Trust