SAFETY DEPOSIT BOXES - THINGS TO CONSIDER
The FBI ... continued to search for the "extremely sophisticated" thieves who bored a hole through the roof of a Seattle bank and broke into scores of safety-deposit boxes ....
seattletimes.com
Several years ago there was a fascinating in-depth investigative report on a women who had over a million dollars in cash and jewelry in safe deposit box. All stolen. Never was made public when it happened, nor exactly how it happened. No obvious break-in. Apparently when this occurs, it rarely is made public..
Banks (under pressure) will make settlements, but you need hard proof of what's in those boxes. Part of settlement with bank is that details cannot be made public. That's why many are unaware that safety deposit boxes can be and have been broken into.
FDIC: The Key to Your Safe Deposit Box
Mark Mellon, an attorney with the FDIC in Washington, says that if a local, state or federal law enforcement agency persuades the appropriate court that there's "reasonable cause" to suspect you're hiding something illegal in your box (guns, drugs, explosives, stolen cash or money obtained illegally), "it can obtain a court order, force the box open and seize the contents." But what about non-criminal matters, such as a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service, a company or other people over money they say you owe? McGuinn of Safe Deposit Specialists says the IRS can "freeze" your assets (effectively placing a hold on your bank accounts and safe deposit box) until the dispute is resolved. Private parties also can freeze your assets but doing so involves going before a judge and proving that there's a legitimate dispute over a debt.
fdic.gov
Safe Deposit Boxes are not insured by FDIC.
The contents of a safe deposit box are NOT insured by the FDIC, nor, generally, by the bank where the box is located. (Make sure you read the contract you signed with the bank when you rented the safe deposit box in the event that some type of insurance is provided; some banks may make a very limited payment if the box or contents are damaged or destroyed, depending on the circumstances.) If you are concerned about the safety, or replacement, of items you have put in a safe deposit
box you may wish to consider fire and theft insurance. Separate insurance for these perils may be available; consult your insurance agent. Usually such insurance is part of a homeowner's or tenant's insurance policy for a residence and its contents. Again consult your insurance agent for more information. If floods and earthquakes have
been known to occur in your location, you may want to look into insurance against these natural disasters.
In the event of a bank failure, in most cases an acquiring institution would take over the failed bank's offices, including locations with safe deposit boxes. If the FDIC conducts a payoff because no acquirer can be found, boxholders would be sent instructions about removing the contents of their boxes.
lanb.com
A safe deposit box is a veritable necessity for keeping things like offshore bank books, precious metals certificates, bearer securities, cash, coins, etc. Yet a safe deposit box can create its own problems.
One obvious problem is that upon death of the box holder, the bank is required to deny access to the box until a properly appointed executor and an IRS agent open the box. The IRS will presume that all assets are the property of the deceased ... But there are other safe deposit box problems that are at least as important as dealing with the box upon death. For example, if the box is in one name only, many banks will not honor a power of attorney to let somebody else have
access to the box in an emergency, unless the power of attorney is signed in person in the bank.
world-income.com
GOOD ADVICE HERE: Homeowners Policy can cover some of what's in safe deposit box.
insure.com
Cheryl
176 Days until 2000 |
