Frequently, a person will own a safe deposit box in his or her name alone. Since the asset is held in their name alone, there is the initial concern that access will be prohibited once they pass away. However, the probate code has been amended to allow access to the safe deposit box for specified reasons for certain people. The following explains how a person can gain access to the safe deposit box and what they may remove.
First, the person seeking access must have a key to the box. Prob C § 331(a). It is not enough if the person is a relative or friend of the decedent, he or she needs a key to gain access. Next, this person must showing the bank both of the following (Prob C § 331(b):
(1) Proof of the decedent’s death. Proof shall be provided by a
certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate or by a written statement of
death from the coroner, treating physician, or hospital or institution where
the decedent died.
(2) Reasonable proof of the identity of the person seeking
access. Reasonable proof of identity is provided for the purpose of this
paragraph if the requirements of Section 13104 are satisfied.
In short, the person needs to show a death certificate and a
driver's license to the bank.
Upon satisfaction of Prob C § 331(b), the bank is required to do the following:
(1) Keep a record of the identity of the person.
(2) Permit the person to open the safe deposit box under the
supervision of an officer or employee of the financial institution, and to make
an inventory of its contents.
(3) Make a photocopy of all wills and trust instruments removed
from the safe deposit box, and keep the photocopy in the safe deposit box until
the contents of the box are removed by the personal representative of the
estate or other legally authorized person. The financial institution may charge
the person given access a reasonable fee for photocopying.
(4) Permit the person given access to remove instructions for
the disposition of the decedent’s remains, and, after a photocopy is made, to
remove the wills and trust instruments.
In short, the person can remove the decedent's will and trust
from the safe deposit box but must make a copy of each.
Then, the person is to deliver all wills found in the safe
deposit box to the clerk of the superior court and mail or deliver a copy to
the person named in the will as executor or beneficiary as provided in Section
8200. Prob C § 331(e).
However, this person is not given carte blanche in regards to
removing items. The last part of Prob C § 331 states:
(f) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the person given
access shall not remove any of the contents of the decedent’s safe deposit box.
Thus, if the safe deposit box had a large sum of cash, an Omega
watch or the keys to a Ferrari in it, the person would be prohibited from
taking these items. The personal representative would be the appropriate party
to remove these items from the safe deposit box. A person is appointed the
personal representative of a decedent's estate only after filing various
documents with the probate court.
