If a box is owned jointly and one of the owners dies, are the contents of the box the property of the joint owner? Are the contents part of the decedent's estate?
A safe deposit box is a container and space that is rented from the bank or other provider of safe deposit service. Placing property in the box does not by itself affect the ownership of the property. If you jointly rent a box with your mother, and she places her $50,000 diamond brooch in the box to keep it safe, the brooch doesn't become yours upon your mother's death. It becomes part of her estate, unless she gave it to you before she died.
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A safe deposit box is a container and space that is rented from the bank or other provider of safe deposit service. Placing property in the box does not by itself affect the ownership of the property. If you jointly rent a box with your mother, and she places her $50,000 diamond brooch in the box to keep it safe, the brooch doesn't become yours upon your mother's death. It becomes part of her estate, unless she gave it to you before she died.
