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How to find the Safe Deposit Box and any banking accounts

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E

Evil Scotsman

Junior Member
Pennsylvania

My Uncle passed away and I am the executor of the will. We have gone to City Hall to register the will and start probate. My question is my Uncle told my daughter to tell me, (this was the first day he went in the hospital) to clean out his safe deposit box if anything happens. But did not tell her where it was or where the key is. I asked him a few days later about the location and key, he told me WE didn't have to worry about it right now WE would take care of it later. Well, now he has passed and I am trying to get everything straight. We had gone to the three (3) banks we KNOW he dealt with and they all say he does not have a SDB. The oldest bank account he had was Country Wide which has been taken over by Bank of America. We are at a COMPLETE loss as to where to go from here? BOA told us to look through his bills and old checking accounts for evidence of the box. No Luck! Mentally he was sharp as a tack right up til the very last week, so I have no doubt there IS a box, just don;t know how to find it. ANY HELP or SUGGESTIONS are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

THANK YOU in advance
 


xylene

xylene

Senior Member
Evil Scotsman said:
Pennsylvania

My Uncle passed away and I am the executor of the will. We have gone to City Hall to register the will and start probate. My question is my Uncle told my daughter to tell me, (this was the first day he went in the hospital) to clean out his safe deposit box if anything happens. But did not tell her where it was or where the key is. I asked him a few days later about the location and key, he told me WE didn't have to worry about it right now WE would take care of it later. Well, now he has passed and I am trying to get everything straight. We had gone to the three (3) banks we KNOW he dealt with and they all say he does not have a SDB. The oldest bank account he had was Country Wide which has been taken over by Bank of America. We are at a COMPLETE loss as to where to go from here? BOA told us to look through his bills and old checking accounts for evidence of the box. No Luck! Mentally he was sharp as a tack right up til the very last week, so I have no doubt there IS a box, just don;t know how to find it. ANY HELP or SUGGESTIONS are GREATLY APPRECIATED!

THANK YOU in advance
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Hire a private investigator, as clearly your uncle's behavior suggests he was hiding financial matters.
 
K

Kiawah

Senior Member
Safety deposit boxes are either rented, or they are free amd packaged in a deal given to a customer that is banking at their company and meet certain deposit standards.

Assuming it was rented, you might find an expenditure by going back and looking through the last couple years of checks and checking account statements.

If it was free, then it would be at one of the banks he's currently doing business with. Check for bank statements, and check his last couple tax returns to find out what banks he's had deposits and has gotten interest from.



Also, you might check if there is anything in the aunts name (his wife). It may have been opened in her name and SSN, and he just kept it current and used it.
 
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D

Dandy Don

Senior Member
The private investigator you hire must have experience in doing financial background checks. Have you gone through the decedent's home to try to find recent bank statements that would have copies of cancelled checks? You could also just start writing or calling various banks in the city (their safe deposit box departments) to inquire to see if he had a box there.
 
E

Evil Scotsman

Junior Member
Ok thanks to the advice I have received on here, we THINK we MAY have found it. But there is a catch. We know at one point he was on the SDB with his brother. The reason he told us to clean it out before the bank knew he was dead was because when his brother passed 15 years ago, he had a very hard time getting into it even though he was on it. Anyway, we went through both his and his brothers tax returns and found that his brother (Joe) was claiming it on his taxes until his death. Then current uncle (Bob) took over claiming it on his taxes. The bank that it was at was Fidelity, but we have no idea who or how many times that bank was bought out or who owns it now. MY belief is that it is now owned by PNC. The address for the bank orginally on the tax returns/Joe's probate is the same address in the neighborhood for the PNC. Bob NEVER changed anything, as far as billing went. For example their MOTHER passed away about 25 years ago and she is still on the phone bill. Can I (not the executor, my wife is, but doesnt have access to a phone during working hours) call the bank just to see IF he had an account there?

Sorry for the long post! THANK YOU
 
A

anteater

Senior Member
Can I (not the executor, my wife is, but doesnt have access to a phone during working hours) call the bank just to see IF he had an account there?
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You can certainly give it a try, but I am skeptical that they will tell you.

Be aware that PA is pretty sticky about entry to safe deposit boxes. This is from the Bucks County Register of Wills website:
SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES

Do safe deposit boxes have to be inventoried by the State after someone passes away?
Yes. Because safe deposit boxes may contain assets which are subject to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax, the law prohibits the removal of the contents of any safe deposit box solely-owned by a decedent, or by a decedent and others, except a spouse, without conducting a safe deposit box inventory. (These rules do not apply to boxes jointly owned by husband and wife.)

Who may enter a safe deposit box after the death of a decedent?
No one is allowed to enter a safe deposit box, not even a joint owner, except to remove a will and/or burial instructions and it must be done in the presence of a bank employee. The bank employee must complete PA Form REV-487 (Entry Into A Safe Deposit Box To Remove A Will Or Cemetery Deed) to record the entry and mail it to the PA Department of Revenue. Pennsylvania law states that the contents of safe deposit boxes must be inventoried before they can be removed.

Who conducts safe deposit box inventories and who must be present at the inventory?
A bank employee, a representative of the PA Department of Revenue, or an attorney representing the estate (with written permission from the Department) can conduct safe deposit box inventories. The person conducting the inventory and the executor or administrator of the estate must be present at the inventory. If the executor or administrator of the estate is not present, he/she must give a notarized limited power of attorney to whoever is representing them. If the decedent and a surviving joint owner owned the box, the surviving owner should be present.

How do I arrange an inventory of a safe deposit box for some-one who died in Pennsylvania?
To arrange an inventory of a safe deposit box, contact the financial institution where the box is located to see what items are required to access the box. The law states that a bank official is authorized to perform the inventory, the attorney who represents the estate may be authorized to perform the inventory, or you may contact the Revenue District Office, which serves the county where the box is located.
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