I am considering going to a bank and getting a safety deposit box for some very important (and irreplaceable) things I have.

I understand that usually you pay an annual fee, and I want to know what legal protections (if any) exist for any items I keep there.

Particularly - let's say a year from now I forget the annual fee is due - can the bank just throw away whatever I keep, or take possession of it as theirs?

Further, do I have a right to keep my items? In other words, is there any way a bank could try to claim them as their own or do I have an absolute legal right to them?

Thank you for any information.

Safe deposit boxes are a good place to keep your important papers and items you may not be comfortable keeping at home. The bank can not claim any of these items, in any circumstance. If you forget to pay your rent, the bank ususally flags your box and will not allow you to access it until the rent is paid. If you do not pay your rent in five years (depending on the state) it is considered abandoned property and is escheated to the State in which the bank branch is located.
There are a couple things you may want to keep in a safe deposit box: Life Insurance, Home insurance documents, antiques or evening jewelry, selected collectables that are more valauble kept safe than on display.
There are a couple things you may not want to keep in a safe deposit box: Wills - once a bank knows an owner of a box has died, some states require the box to be frozen until probate is started - you can't always start probate without a will, (you can see the circle).


Contents of a Safe Deposit box are NOT FDIC insured nor are they covered by the bank's insurance policy. You should continue to insure any item you place in the box. The bank has no knowledge of what you place in the box. In the unlikely event of a catastrophy, (fire, flood, earthquake, terrorist act) the vault may not survive and the contents may be lost.

Can you put cash in a safety deposit box?? Are there laws against that?

Your bank's safe deposit rental contract may prohibit the storage of cash in the box. But there are no laws against it.

I'd like to add that it takes 2 keys to get into the box. One is held by the bank and the other by you. Should you lose your key, the bank needs to bring in a locksmith (at your cost of course) to break into the box. Further when you deposit items or remove them from the box you may take the box into a private room. The bank has no knowledge of what you put into the box or remove.

I have heard that in the event of the Death of a safety box holder who has physical cash in their box the Government is entitled to a portion of this ( up to half )????
Is this true ??

Safe deposit rules are found at the state level. I cannot imagine that the state has a valid claim on a percentage of the cash found in a box of a decedent. There may be state laws blocking access to the box until certain steps have been taken to satisfy state tax obligations.

In PA if you have a solely owned box or a box owned jointly with anyone other than a spouse, the box must be inventoried by the state before anyone can access the box. The inventory goes to the Pa Department of Revenue- (Inhertitance Tax)

In my experience, safety deposit boxes are not safe, the word safe needs to be removed, especially in the event of the owner's death. As most banks just let the "qualified" executors waltz in and remove all the contents. If you can trust the exec. good-if not the intended inheritance--if kept in the safety deposit boxes may not ever find the heir as you intended! This happened to me!

Gacats - your generalizations will not earn you many friends -I'm sorry that you've had a poor experience, but our bank we training all employees that in the death of a box renter, we need the death certificate and/or writ from probate court asking that we search for a will - The only items we will allow to be removed are:
Cemetery/plot deed
Will
Insurance Policies

Again, only upon court order. I'm sorry the banks that you dealt with do not fulfil their fiduciary responsibility, but I'm sure you would get your dander up if I painted everyone in your profession with a black brush - Play nice!
Talk to your state regulators - voice your complaint with the presidents of the banks - sue the executors. You do still have options - request the banks involved bear some of the expense of your legal costs.

For the record, the term is "safe deposit," not "safety deposit." It comes from the practice -- in some cases, current practice -- of placing these rental spaces in the bank's safe, or vault.

Amen, John... re: "safety" vs. "safe" deposit box. This is one of my pet peeves. I am trying to learn not to let such little annoyances bother me, but am not always successful. This one ranks right up there on my list with "Reel-uh-ter" for realtor and "nuke-yuh-ler" for nuclear (ala George W).