In 2001, John Doe passed away. In 2010, his widow followed him, leaving their only daughter as the sole heir of the family’s assets. Their daughter, a single woman, passed on in 2015, and left her entire estate, such as it was, to a childhood friend (the widow I happen to be currently involved with).
Yesterday, two envelopes arrived by certified mail, from Citibank, with the rubric “SAFE DEPOSIT”. The envelopes were addressed to the late Mr. and Mrs. Doe.
My girlfriend has no way of getting in touch with the Does’ lawyer, or their daughter’s lawyer.
IANAL but I think she should gather documents proving that she is the rightful heir of the Does’ estates and bring them to the bank. Perhaps the Does had stuff in a safe deposit box?
As a postal worker, I’m predisposed to erring on the side of extreme caution on the question of whether it’s okay to open mail that’s not addressed to me. That’s probably why I really hope someone who IS a lawyer eventually chimes in.
That said, I do appreciate your response. It also raises questions about whether there’s anything like Storage Wars for (apparently) abandoned safe deposit boxes. I suppose there might be some hefty fees owed to Citibank, but who knows what might be there to be found? Would fees have to be paid before peeking at any putative contents? In the event that no key(s) are to surface, is there even any way for the contents to be accessed?
This might be better placed in GQ, now that I think about it.
In my state, if contents of a safe deposit box are abandoned/unclaimed, they are surrendered to the state and a state agency attempts to find the rightful owner. My state twice a year publishes in a newspaper listings of such property and people can come forward and claim it. After a fairly long period the property value reverts to the state. Several times I have gotten small amounts from unused gift cards.
Here’s a website where you can find out how your state handles unclaimed property:
Ah. So, NOT a straight line to a “Storage Wars” situation, then.
The problem remains with the fact that my girlfriend was never related to the Doe family. So tracking down a chain of wills may be her only means of establishing that the property belongs to her. And she detests the executor of her friend’s will and would prefer to avoid any future contact with her.
Well, that was fun. After posting the unclaimed property state agencies listing I went to my state for the heck of it. Turns out I had a listing to claim, found one for my lest son and two for a brother in law. Mine and the kid’s was in the under $250 category, the BIL’s two were in the over $250 category-I told him he owes me an M’s pub dinner in Omaha if it works out.
I’ve claimed property through the state agency before-it was easy, painless. In my case it was an used gift card.
If the will states that any assets are to go to her, by very stringent laws and legal obligations that executor must render them over to her and the executor must be civil about it. If your girlfriend would like a degree of separation for that process she could engage an attorney to contact that executor. And all those wills have to be filed with county registrars so finding them shouldn’t be too hard-locate one and then follow the trail.
IANAL but I did work as a paralegal for some years and my middle kid is a lawyer. Your state may vary slightly but claiming those assets should be a transparent, almost coldly clinical process. Engage a lawyer on a contingency if that is preferable for some distance from potential unpleasantness. Lots of eager beaver new attorneys out there trying to build up a practice.
IANAL – But if it were me, I’d open the letter, since it was routed to your friend (it’s not like she stole it). It might be junk mail for all you know. Once she knows what it is, she’ll know whether she should contact an attorney or just let the whole thing drop.
BTW, of course the contents of a safe deposit box can be accessed even if the keys are lost. Bank management can always bring in a locksmith who will drill out the lock. I’ve done it (not with a safe deposit box); it takes a while but will unlock. My guess is that every bank has had to do this from time to time and has procedures in place.
The bank and the USPS think the mail belongs to her. She should open it and talk to the bank. Even if the bank is referring her to some other party she should clear up what they know about this estate. Worst case is she’ll have to deal with the executor somehow.
If the Does died ten years ago or so, is the executor still in charge of the estate? Or does that relationship end once the estate is distributed? Because if the executor is still around, perhaps the recipient of the letters can take it to them. (The OP said they don’t get along with the daughter’s executor, but how’s the relationship with the parents’ executors?)
Oh, she doesn’t even have any idea who executed the Does’ estate(s), if any. She does know that the Betty Lou Doe’s executor borrowed about $30K while Betty Lou was still alive, and never repaid it, as well as helped herself to some of the contents of the house during the year and a half that it took her to get around to turning the keys over. Which explains why my girlfriend doesn’t want to have any more contact with her (AIUI, the loan was personal and undocumented, and the personal belongings were of low enough value that writing them off was a small price to pay for ending contact).
Again, IANAL, but if the daughter died five years ago, what legal standing does the executor have currently? The girlfriend may be the only one with legal standing to open the envelopes.