APRIL 2016 NEWSLETTER

HOW DO I ENTER A DECEDENT’S SAFE DEPOSIT BOX?

Regardless of whether you are accessing a decedent’s safe deposit box as the personal representative (the Executor or Administrator) of the decedent’s estate or as a joint owner of the safe deposit box, in Pennsylvania you must comply with certain legal requirements when accessing the safe 3 deposit box owned by a deceased individual. There is a possibility that Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax will be due depending or attributable to the relationship of the Decedent to the person or entity who will ultimately be receiving the contents of the safe deposit box. Because of this possibility, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue requires that an inventory of the safe deposit box must be taken, along with other procedural requirements.

Prior to the time when the safe deposit box is being inventoried, no one can enter the safe deposit box. This includes the joint owner, unless the sole surviving joint owner is the surviving spouse of the decedent. The only reason the safe deposit box may be opened prior to the inventory is to remove the decedent’s will or burial instructions. However, this must be done in the presence of a bank employee, who must then make a record of the entry into the box and provide formal notice to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue.

If the safe deposit box was owned solely by the Decedent or jointly owned with a person other than the Decedent’s spouse, notice that the safe deposit box will be opened must be provided to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue at least seven days prior to the date the box will be opened. It is the responsibility of the personal representative of the Estate to provide this notice by certified mail, return receipt requested even if the box was jointly owned and therefore not subject to probate. If the Decedent jointly owned the safe deposit box with a spouse then no notice is required to be given to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. In the notice, the personal representative must include: 1) the name of the estate; 2) the name of the person entering the box; 3) the name and address of the financial institution where the box is located; and, 4) the date and time of the intended entry of the box.

Once notice has been given to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, the safe deposit box can be entered and inventoried. At the time of the inventory, the personal representative must provide a copy of the notice given to the Department of Revenue to the financial institution where the box is located. Additionally, the personal representative of the estate must provide a statement to the financial institution verifying that the notice was provided to the Department of Revenue. Once the financial institution receives this notice, they are then required to permit the Personal Representative to enter and remove the contents of the box without the presence of a department or bank employee. Within twenty (20) days after entering the safe deposit box, the personal representative of the estate must complete form Rev-485, Safe Deposit Box Inventory, and mail in the form to the Department of Revenue Safe Deposit Box Unit.

If you have any questions about complying with the procedural requirements for completing an inventory of a safe deposit box, our experienced estate attorneys should be consulted.