Our safe deposit box.....how safe is it ?

[Victor Newman]

What is the name of your state?Oregon. How secure is our bank safe deposit box....insofar as keeping any government agency out of it ?

There seems to be a lot of turmoil in government these days. Don't want FDIC or any regulator going into our safe deposit box. If the bank is closed down for a good reason....that is OK. As long as the box is left alone....and I can get in there, if needed.

Should I be worried ?

 

[Taxing Matters]

Safe deposit boxes require two keys to open them — the key the bank gives you and the bank's master key. Without both keys the only way to open the box is to drill it open. Not even the bank can open it without drilling it. For a government agency to get the right to search it, and possibly seize the contents, it must have a court order authorizing access. Without your key, the agency would also have to drill it open. When I was a revenue officer for the IRS I had to do that a couple of times. It wasn't a simple or fast thing to accomplish. I made sure I had a pretty idea that there was something valuable enough in there to make the effort worthwhile. I could seal the box easily enough so that no one, including the box holder, could get into it without me being there. But actually getting access to the box without the cooperation of the taxpayer was another matter.

The best use for a safe deposit box is holding the original version of important documents like your passport, birth certificate, etc so they won't get lost or destroyed should some disaster strike your home (e.g. in a fire in your home). The one original documenst you don't want to keep there are is your will. That's because the will is what the court needs to appoint your chosen executor and your executor is the one needed to open the box. Putting the original will (a copy is fine) in the box will slow down probate proceedings and that can result in problems when your assets are left unattended. There are a few other documents I wouldn't suggest go into a safe deposit box, too.

What fear do you have regarding the FDIC or other bank regulator? They aren't interested in what's in your safe deposit box. They are interested in how well the bank is following federal and state banking laws and that the bank's finances are sound. The FDIC in particular is concerned with bank solvency so that it won't have to pay out any more insurance claims than absolutely necessary. When a bank is in financial trouble, the FDIC will examine the books of the bank and if it appears that deposits might be at risk, it will arrange for the troubled bank to be absorbed by one that is sound so that the insured deposits are safe. None of that has anything to do with bank customer safe deposit boxes.

 

[zddoodah]

How secure is our bank safe deposit box....insofar as keeping any government agency out of it ?

Ummm...what?

Do you have reason to believe that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or any other federal, state or local government agency might have interest in the contents of your safe deposit box? I feel fairly confident in saying that the folks down at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services don't just wander into banks and demand access to random safe deposit boxes.

Don't want FDIC or any regulator going into our safe deposit box.

OK...why would anyone at the FDIC or "any regulator" want to do that?

Should I be worried ?

About what? Perhaps your vague concerns about "turmoil" in the federal government are cause for some general concern, but the likelihood that anyone is going to access your safe deposit box is pretty well nil unless law enforcement has probable cause to get a search warrant.

 

[Victor Newman]

Hi Z. POTUS and his pals don't seem to be following the law......in a number of instances.....that make the 6 pm news these days. That makes me worried.

 

[quincy]

Hi Z. POTUS and his pals don't seem to be following the law......in a number of instances.....that make the 6 pm news these days. That makes me worried.

If you are concerned about the current administration’s actions, you could always try channeling this worry in a positive way by supporting those working towards change. Be sure to vote in local, state and federal elections.

Of all of the worrisome things in this crazy world to legitimately be concerned about, however, I think safety deposit boxes should probably be near the bottom of your list.

 

[Zigner]

Hi Z. POTUS and his pals don't seem to be following the law......in a number of instances.....that make the 6 pm news these days. That makes me worried.

Going on that premise, there's no way ANYBODY could guess the answer to your question. Heck, it wouldn't even matter if it were legal, would it?

 

[zddoodah]

Hi Z. POTUS and his pals don't seem to be following the law......in a number of instances.....that make the 6 pm news these days. That makes me worried.

Ok...so if you just have vague, irrational concerns, then you should take everything from your box and put it in a safe at your house. Probably should withdraw all your money in cash (or maybe buy gold) and store it under your mattress.

That being said, my closing statement remains: "the likelihood that anyone is going to access your safe deposit box is pretty well nil unless law enforcement has probable cause to get a search warrant."

 

[quincy]

A few years ago, Victor said he lived in a heavily-wooded area of Oregon and he was concerned about the possibility of wild fires destroying his house.

If Victor still lives in the same house (and if wildfires have not already destroyed his surrounding woods), it seems to me that storing cash in his mattress would not relieve Victor of worry.