What is bank trust account?

A bank trust account is a bank account that holds assets of another person or entity, and the bank acts as the custodian, Legal Zoom says. The assets can include cash, stocks and bonds or real estate.

The trust account may also carry a beneficiary, who takes legal control of the assets upon the death of the trustee, Legal Zoom notes. As part of the role of the trustee, he may make changes to the account and name another beneficiary or a successor trustee. He may also close the account or open a sub-account to transfer some of the assets. If the trustee is handling the account on behalf of the directions of a will, he must follow the directions set forth in the will.