How should we title a deposit account for a land trust that rents out the property held in the trust under a d/b/a name?

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)