Should I Add Someone to My Safety Deposit Box?

I had someone come into the office the other day with a problem.

Their mom had passed away and owned a safety deposit box.

As mom fell ill, she wanted to make sure she had continued access to the safety deposit box even if she couldn’t go down there herself and access it.

So she added someone to her safety deposit box to access it.

When she passed away, they tried to go down to the bank and get the contents out of the safety deposit box and were shocked to find out that the bank had transferred ownership of the box (and it’s contents) to the other person named on the account!

This episode is all about how to take care of the problem, if it exists, and ways to plan ahead so you can avoid this problem in the future.

There are some ways to reduce and eliminate your estate tax liability, it just takes a little a little strategizing, a little planning, and the help of a great estate planning attorney.

And, when you’re done, If you want to talk more about your own estate planning needs and wants, click here and schedule a strategy session.