safe deposit box

[curious73]

i went to close my safe deposit box and found out there was another box opened. i never signed or requested a second box and now they have to drill the box, though i won't be charged, they want me to be there to check to make sure nothing is in there and sign some forms. i'm the only one on the account. i'm iffy about signing anything since there are no papers of any kind stating i opened another box. help. do i have to be present? i'm in california.

 

[Taxing Matters]

So far as I know no law requires that you be there. But the bank is going to want you there, and you probably want to be there, too. The reason is that if there is something in there you want to know what it is. If somehow it is something of yours, you may want to claim that. If it isn't yours, you can tell the bank that and disclaim whatever that is. Whether you should sign anything depends of course on what the document says. It may simply be that the bank mistakenly assigned you two boxes instead of one when you opened it. In that case, this should be a simple thing.