Do these vary widely by bank? Is there any place besides a bank that you can get one? What’s the minimum to expect to pay a month for the smallest size? And do they all work with the two keys like in the movies?
Yes, it varies widely by bank and by size. No, they don’t all require two keys like in the movies (at many of our locations, the branch manager is the only one with a key and you have to show a photo ID). Call your bank to get more info.
I would imagine that you could get a similar set up at other places. Being a bank is certainly not required.
Depending on size of the box and your relationship with the bank, $30 for the year is not odd. But it may be different in, say, NYC.
Oh, don’t forget. Deposit boxes are not covered by FDIC or any of the other banking regulations. Basically, the bank has the space and a safe environment.
Careful going outside a bank for this service. Several years ago a company started providing this service in Denver. IIRC one of their marketing ideas was “Not even your banker needs to know what is in here.” “Unrivaled security yada, yada, yada”
You guessed it. It was broken into by unscrewing the 4 bolts that held the Air Conditioning unit on the top of the building, letting the AC unit crash to the floor, and the theives just lowered themselves in, drilled the boxes, and climbed out. Local legend had it that many of the owners of the pilfered boxed never filed police reports.
Some banks will even waive the annual fee if you do enough business with them.
::Sadly missing his long sig::
I have 2 safe deposit boxes. One is free because I have a large account there, the other is $16 a year. I only keep a few things in mine (copy of my will, alternate I.D.'s, etc.) so I have the smallest one. Size determins the cost. They usually are paid by the year, and you can set up who you want to have access to them. If you want a “key holder” account (whoever has the key is aloud in) set it up that way, but I know from experience bankers actually hate that.
There are private deposit box companies. The bigger the city you live in, the more there will be. If you are trying to store something incognito, I recommend doing what my rotten, no good, crooked father-in-law does and use a private box company under a fake name. Read Bandersnatches post and check out their security first. They usually cost more than a bank.
:rolleyes: Because he’s hiding $350k that he’d stolen, that’s why.
In most banks the charge for a small box should not exceed $20/ yr. Given “bankers hours” they can be a pain in the neck to use.
There is some stuff that should be kept in a bank box and not in a lock box or a safe at home. If you have a will, the signed copy should be there. Same with life insurance policies since the policy generally needs to be surrendered before the death benefit is paid out. If you own real estate and live in an “abstract of title” state the abstract should be there. If you live in a title insurance state, the insurance policy should be in there. Generally, anything that it will be a big hassle to replace, e.g., passports, birth certificates, the silver spoon that was in George W.’s mouth at birth, should be stashed in a bank box. I keep my car titles in mine.
I agree with this, but I would suggest that you keep a photocopy in your home, or with your lawyer. In the event of your death, the bank will need some proof that the person claiming to be your executor is in fact your executor before allowing that person into your safe deposit box. And if the only copy of the will is in the safe deposit box - well, let’s just say that John Cleese could have a lot of fun with this concept.
Guess Ill site some real stuff. In California, the Bank of America has three sizes, small, about $24, med $43, large, $100 month. These are about right for now but they might have changed.
They take two keys to open, you have one (you get two of the same one) the bank has the other. If you lose your keys you have to pay $40 for new ones cause you are the only one with them & they have to drill your box open.
You have sign a paper to get in your box & they verify your signature.