Reminder for Mandatory Separate Bank Accounts

Upon qualification before the Court, each fiduciary acknowledges that the fiduciary has general responsibility to keep the assets under the fiduciary’s control separate from the fiduciary’s individual and personal assets by establishing a separate fiduciary bank account into which the fiduciary is to deposit all receipts and from which the fiduciary is to make all disbursements. Use of an account established by the decedent or the ward can lead to confusion and failure to account properly for the funds. Moreover, it can subject the fiduciary’s accounts to claims against the decedent or the ward, which might not be the proper liability of the estate. In such circumstances, the fiduciary may be personally responsible for any such losses.

Pursuant to Virginia Code § 64.2-1311.E, the fiduciary account should provide for the return of cancelled checks or the bank should provide images of the cancelled checks as a part of its regular bank statements provided to the fiduciary.