Is it advisable to allow a debit card on dda accounts that have a trust agreement involved.

My opinion would be as long as you are issuing the debit card to the trustee who has access to the account, there is no problem. Of course read thru the Trust Agreement carefully to make sure of what rights the Trustee has under the Trust Agreement - I can't imagine it would forbid debit card usage, but you never know. The way I look at it is if the Trustee has access to the account thru other methods (teller, mail, phone, etc), whay should a debit card, or even online access be different. Of course, these are my views and are not legal nor are they my employers.

Your DDA was probably set-up by the trustee. As trustee that person or entity has the fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries of the trust. Your bank is only a service provider hired by the trustee, you have no fiduciary obligation to the beneficiaries of the trust, your only concern is that the trustee manage the deposit account in accordance with your deposit agreement.

I don't believe you have any obligation to review the trust document to determine whether the issuance or use of a debit card is permissible under the provisions of the trust. Chances are the trust references state statute and provides for actions permissible as stated therein and as may be amended.

As discussed in severl other threads over the past few days, you may not even have a copy of the full trust agreement. It may be only a Certificate of Trust as may be provided for in your state statutes. It may just be the first and last pages of the trust. Or it may be a copy of the trust without the dispositive provisions.

Issue the card in the same manner as you issue debit cards to other DDA accounts.