Mercury Personal supports accounts titled in the name of a revocable living trust. This article covers which trusts are eligible, what you'll need during onboarding, who can access the account, and how FDIC insurance and tax reporting work.
What is a trust account?
A trust account is a bank account owned by a trust instead of an individual or group of individuals. People commonly use trusts to organize assets like bank accounts, real estate, investments, and property titles under a single legal structure, simplify estate planning, avoid probate, and manage shared household finances.
Existing trusts can now apply for banking services through Mercury Personal.
What trust types does Mercury support?
Mercury currently supports revocable living trusts only.
At this time, Mercury does not support:
- Irrevocable trusts
- Special needs trusts
- Court-supervised trusts
- Charitable trusts
- Business or institutional trust structures
- 401(k) or other qualified retirement plan trusts
Mercury supports one trust account per person at this time.
How to tell what type of trust you have
To tell what type of trust you have, check your trust document for these three details.
Who created it, and why. A supported trust is one you, as an individual, set up for your own estate planning — for example, to avoid probate or manage your personal assets. It's usually named something like a "Living Trust," "Family Trust," or "Revocable Trust."
Revocable or irrevocable. Your trust document should state whether you, as grantor, can amend or revoke the trust. Mercury only supports trusts you can still change or cancel. If the document says the trust is irrevocable, or says it became irrevocable at some point (for example, after someone's death), it isn't supported.
Who it's for. If the trust exists to hold retirement, pension, or employee benefit assets rather than your personal assets, it isn't supported. Signs this may be the case:
- The trust document references a retirement plan, 401(k), ERISA, or "qualified plan"
- An employer, plan sponsor, or plan administrator established the trust, rather than you personally
- The trustee is a financial institution or plan administrator acting on behalf of plan participants, rather than you or someone you named
- The trust has its own EIN tied to the retirement plan, rather than reporting under your SSN
- The trust document describes itself as tax-exempt under a section of the tax code, for example IRC Section 401(a)
The first page of your trust document, or a summary from whoever drafted it, usually makes the purpose and structure clear. If you're still not sure, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com and we can help confirm.
Trust roles: grantor, trustee, and beneficiary
Every trust has three roles — grantor, trustee, and beneficiary — and Mercury asks about all three during onboarding.
- Grantor — the person who created the trust and put assets into it
- Trustee — the person responsible for managing those assets on behalf of the trust
- Beneficiary — the person or entity the trust exists to benefit, and who will receive the trust's assets
Am I a grantor, trustee, or both?
For most revocable living trusts, you're both a grantor and a trustee: you created the trust, and you also manage it day to day. Check your trust document to confirm your specific role.
Can my trust have more than one grantor?
Yes. Trusts created jointly, such as by spouses or partners, can have more than one grantor, and Mercury supports this for trust accounts. Mercury also supports trusts with multiple trustees.
Who can open and access a trust account?
Trust accounts must be opened by a trustee. Trustees are the individuals authorized to manage and operate the trust account.
Access to a Mercury trust account is limited to verified trustees and grantors listed during onboarding. Beneficiaries do not receive account access, and additional users, custom roles, and limited access permissions are not currently supported for trust accounts.
To update trustees, grantors, or beneficiaries after onboarding, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com. Additional review or documentation may be required depending on the change requested.
How onboarding works
Opening a trust account is similar to opening a Mercury Personal account, with a few additional steps. During onboarding, we'll ask for:
- Trust information, including the trust's legal name, formation date, and governing state
- Trustee information
- Grantor information
- Beneficiary information
- Identity verification
All trustees, grantors, and beneficiaries associated with the trust must be listed during onboarding. You'll also review and sign a Mercury-generated Certificate of Trust during the application process.
Mercury does not require uploading full trust documents during onboarding.
What's the legal name of my trust?
The legal name of your trust is the official name given to it in the trust document itself, usually on the first page or in the opening paragraph. It's often formatted like "[Your Name] Family Trust" or "[Your Name] Living Trust dated [date]." Enter the exact name as written in your trust document.
Why do I have to add at least one beneficiary?
You have to add at least one beneficiary because a trust isn't legally valid without one — a beneficiary is who the trust exists to benefit. Every trust document names at least one person or entity who will receive the trust's assets.
How do I figure out who is a beneficiary of my trust?
To find the beneficiaries of your trust, check the section of your trust document that names them, often labeled something like "Beneficiary Designations." If you're not sure, the attorney or service that helped draft your trust can confirm.
Editing trust details after you apply
Whether you can edit trust details after submitting your application depends on what's changing.
- Obvious typos, like a misspelled name, may be corrected without a new signature, as long as we can confirm the correct information against an ID already on file
- Substantive changes to your trust's details — including the trust's name, formation date, or governing state — require you to re-sign an updated Certificate of Trust
To request either type of change, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com.
What happens if a grantor or trustee passes away
What happens when a grantor or trustee dies depends on who passes away.
- If the grantor dies, the trust typically becomes irrevocable and control passes to the successor trustee named in the trust document
- If a trustee dies while the grantor is still alive, the grantor can appoint a new trustee or take over the role themselves
In either case, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com and we'll walk you through the documentation we need.
Beneficiaries don't need to do anything while the grantor is alive. If the grantor passes away, the successor trustee is responsible for administering the trust and contacting beneficiaries according to the trust's terms. Mercury does not contact beneficiaries directly.
How FDIC insurance works for trust accounts
FDIC insurance for revocable trust accounts is based on:
- The number of owners (grantors)
- The number of qualifying beneficiaries
- The insured banks holding the deposits
Under FDIC rules, funds in a revocable trust deposit account at an FDIC-insured bank are insured up to $250,000 per owner, per qualifying beneficiary, per insured bank, subject to FDIC rules and documentation requirements.
Mercury currently supports up to five beneficiaries per trust account. Assuming all beneficiaries are qualifying and unique, the maximum FDIC insurance coverage for a single-owner trust account is:
| Number of beneficiaries | Maximum FDIC coverage |
|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 |
| 2 | $500,000 |
| 3 | $750,000 |
| 4 | $1,000,000 |
| 5 | $1,250,000 |
Mercury may also use sweep networks that distribute funds across multiple FDIC-insured banks, which can increase total FDIC coverage available to eligible deposits. Coverage depends on account ownership, beneficiary structure, and applicable FDIC rules.
For more information about your specific coverage, we recommend using the FDIC's EDIE calculator or speaking with the FDIC directly.
Important notes about beneficiaries:
- Only qualifying and unique beneficiaries count toward expanded FDIC coverage
- Naming the same beneficiary multiple times will not increase coverage
- Some beneficiary types — such as estates, charities, corporations, or other trusts — may be treated differently under FDIC rules
- Mercury requires beneficiary information to be maintained in bank records in order for revocable trust FDIC coverage rules to apply
How tax reporting works
Revocable trust accounts are generally reported using the tax information of a designated primary grantor associated with the account. For trusts with multiple grantors, Mercury uses one primary grantor for tax reporting and 1099 issuance purposes.
Mercury does not provide tax advice. If you have questions about your trust structure or reporting obligations, consult a qualified tax professional.
FAQs
Can I transfer my existing trust to Mercury?
Yes. You do not need to create a new trust to open a Mercury trust account. During onboarding, you'll provide information about your existing revocable living trust and complete Mercury's trust onboarding process.
Once your account is approved, you can move funds into your new Mercury trust account using ACH transfers, wires, checks, or other supported funding methods.
Can I open more than one trust account?
Not at this time. Mercury supports one trust account per person.
Which banking features are supported in trust accounts?
Trust accounts support many of the same core banking features available in Mercury Personal, including:
- Checking and savings accounts
- Sub-accounts
- Debit cards
- ACH transfers and wires
- Automated transfers, account automations, and AI-powered features like Insights and Command
- Interest-bearing Savings accounts that earn the same rate as your other Mercury Personal Savings accounts
- Joint or shared account access for multi-trustee trusts
- Expanded FDIC insurance eligibility for qualifying trust accounts
At this time, some Mercury Personal features may not be available for trust accounts, including Mercury Invest.
Can I invite accountants, assistants, or limited access users?
Not at this time. Trust account access is limited to verified trustees and grantors associated with the trust during onboarding.
Can I add a trust as a beneficiary of my trust account?
Yes. As with joint accounts and individual accounts, you may list a trust or up to five individuals as the beneficiary of your trust account.
Unlike joint accounts and individual accounts, beneficiaries of trust accounts must be listed in your application. After your trust account is created, you cannot add, update, or remove beneficiaries self-serve in the Mercury dashboard. To make beneficiary changes after onboarding, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com. Additional review or documentation may be required depending on the requested change.
Can I convert my existing Mercury Personal account into a trust account?
Not at this time. You'll need to apply for a separate account at Mercury titled in the name of the trust, at which point you can move existing funds into your new trust account from any Mercury or external account you already have.
Can I open a trust account with another person?
Yes. Mercury supports trust accounts with multiple grantors and multiple trustees, depending on your trust structure.
Can I add or remove trustees, grantors, or beneficiaries later?
To make changes to your trust account after onboarding, contact the Support team at personal@mercury.com. Additional review or documentation may be required depending on the change requested.
This article summarizes FDIC rules and Mercury product limitations. It is not legal or tax advice. FDIC rules govern ultimate insurance determinations. Please consult the FDIC website (www.fdic.gov) or your legal advisor for additional information.
Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
Revocable (living) trust deposits are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per owner, per beneficiary, per insured bank. Coverage depends on account titling, beneficiary eligibility, and aggregation of funds held at the same bank. Our sweep program may place funds at multiple FDIC-insured banks to extend coverage up to $5 million. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through insurance to apply. Learn more here. See fdic.gov/edie or our Help Center for details.