I'm not an Illinois lawyer, but that sounds like absolute nonsense to me.  If anything, the fact that the trust held the legal title to the house would tend to make payment by check or money order more appropriate, because records of the trust's income and expenses have to be kept.  With a landlord like this, I'd make very sure to get a written receipt for any rent payment, but especially for any form of payment other than my own check.For advice you can rely on, your friend should discuss all the facts of the situation with an attorney in his area.  One place to find a lawyer is our website, http://attorneypages.com