How to Recover Security Deposit Boxes
There are certain situations when the contents of a security box have to be recovered--the collapse of the financial institution hosting the security box, the death of the security box holder or the declaration of a security box as "abandoned." If the rental fee for the deposit box is not paid for a long period and if the bank is not able to locate or contact the holder, the deposit box may be declared abandoned. In this case, the contents are handed over to the unclaimed property office of the state. The owner or his legal heir has the right to claim the property. If the property has been auctioned, the value of the property can be claimed.
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Instructions
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Recovering Security Deposit Boxes in Case of a Bank Collapse
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Contact the bank branch where you hold the security deposit box. Call the bank directly and ask to speak with the branch manager. If the manager is unavailable at the time, be persistent and call back until you are connected.
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Find out whether the bank has been taken over. Again, contact the branch manager directly. If the bank has been taken over, you can operate your safe deposit box as usual once new ownership of the bank sets in. This may take a few days. If no buyers are found for the bank, the bank officials will contact you so that you can claim the contents of the security deposit box.
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After speaking with the branch manager, go to the bank and recover your funds.
Recovering Abandoned Security Deposit Boxes
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Access a government database of missing funds from missingmoney.com. The site is the joint effort of several state and provincial governments and hosts a database of unclaimed property of member states.
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Search for your property using the site's search option. This is a free search. You can search on first name, last name and state or province.
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Search the database of the particular state or province where the safety deposit box was located, in case the state is not a participant of missingmoney.com.
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Gather all relevant data so you can back up your claim that the property is yours. Search for banking slips online and in your files at home. Be sure they contain the dates and times of all transactions made.
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File your claim with the unclaimed property office of the state or province. You can locate the office in the phone book in the section "state government" or on the website of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
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Tips & Warnings
The search on missingmoney.com can be done for the missing property of an individual, family or business.
Since property records are frequently updated in the missingmoney.com database, recheck frequently in case your initial search does not give results.
Do not delay in contacting a failed bank, as arrangements to handle safety deposit boxes are done within a few days after the failure.
