Can a Surviving Spouse Enter the Safe Deposit Box After a Spouse's Death?

Each state has specific rules on when the surviving spouse can enter the decedent's safe deposit box.

What a surviving spouse is allowed to do with a joint safe deposit box or the deceased spouse’s personal safe deposit box will depend upon which state the deceased lived in at the time of death. The laws vary in every state. In fact, some states require that the box first be sealed and a set procedure followed, regardless of the surviving spouse's status as a co-signer.

Co-Signer

If the surviving spouse is a co-signer on the safe deposit box, she can enter the box and remove all of its contents. If the surviving spouse is not a co-signer on the box, she can present the bank authority with a certified copy of the death certificate and the safe deposit box key and remove the decedent’s will and burial instructions. A bank employee must accompany the surviving spouse to ensure that the will and the burial instructions are the only items removed from the box.

Probate

If the decedent’s estate is going to be probated, nothing but the will and burial instructions can be removed by the surviving spouse until the court appoints an executor or administrator. Usually the surviving spouse is named in the will as the decedent’s executor of choice for his estate. Once the widow is officially appointed executor of the deceased’s estate, she can enter the safe deposit box and remove all of its contents, provided she is in possession of the key to the box.

No Probate

In the event the estate is not going to be probated and the surviving spouse is not a co-signer on the safe deposit box, she cannot remove any of the box’s contents (except for the will and burial instructions) until she reads the will and determines that she is inheriting all of his assets. If the surviving spouse is the sole beneficiary under the will, she can present the key and her identification to the bank. She will fill out the appropriate form and then be permitted to remove all of the box’s contents.

If the surviving spouse is not the sole beneficiary under the will, the estate will need to be probated. The surviving spouse will then have to wait until an administrator is appointed by the Court before the contents of the box can be distributed.

Sealed Box

If a decedent lived in a state where the safe deposit box is sealed at the time of death, the surviving spouse must make an appointment with the state agency governing safe deposit box procedures. This information can be obtained from the bank. At the appointment, the state official will inventory the contents of the box. If the widow is a co-signer on the box, she can remove its contents after the inventory has been completed. If she is not a co-signer, and the state is one that seals safe deposit boxes at the time of death, the surviving spouse can remove the box’s contents after the inventory, provided that she is the sole beneficiary of the estate or has been appointed as executor by the Court.

Lost Key

Replacing a lost key to the safe deposit box is very expensive.

The surviving spouse will need to have the safe deposit box key in her possession any time she enters the safe deposit box. The bank also has a key of its own that fits into a second lock on the safe deposit box. If the owner's key has been lost, the bank will hire a locksmith to drill through the lock to obtain access. This procedure could cost the widow hundreds of dollars.

References

• Financial Security by Design; What To Do When Your Spouse Dies; Peter James Lingane; March 2001
• The Elder Law Firm of Robert Clofine; The Safe Deposit Box; Robert Clofine
• Market Watch; Do's and Don'ts for Safe Deposit Boxes; September 1999
• Pere Bruin Press; What to Do When Someone Dies: A Legal, Financial and Practical Guide; Safe Deposit Box; Milton Berry Scott; 2004

Resources

• The Successful Survivor: A Widow's Journey; Richard O'Boyle