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Safe Deposit Box Essay

Decent Essays

In the initial stages of claiming the assets, everything was going well until I found out that the belligerent beneficiary was the new owner of the safe deposit box (the box). As described in the article Opening the Safe Deposit Box of an Estate, the executor must follow a process to open a safe deposit box that is part of an estate. So, as executor, I had to carry out the following tasks after the gruesome discovery:

• Call the beneficiary to inform the beneficiary that they own the safe deposit box.

• Inform the beneficiary that they must be present in order to open the box.

• Instruct the beneficiary to call the bank and set an appointment to open the box.

• Since the key wasn’t found at the estate, ask the beneficiary about the key.

While on the phone with the belligerent beneficiary, I knew the beneficiary would take this opportunity to try and extort more property from the estate, or, try to get more involved with the management of the estate. As the business portion of the call ended, sure enough, the conversation switched to personal property. The beneficiary felt entitled to more property and didn’t hold back expressing that point. When I denied the request, the beneficiary threatened to sue me. As I ended …show more content…

The belligerent beneficiary arrived on time with the spouse as I witnessed them, from my car, yelling at each other walking into the bank. Seeing this behavior, I decided to wait in the car until the couple walked into the bank before I headed for the bank. As I walked into the bank, I approached the couple and thanked them for helping me open the safe deposit box. The beneficiary then asked for five minutes alone in the viewing room while the couple looked through the box. Before I could respond, the bank official arrived at her desk and asked for the $75.00 fee to have the locksmith drill open the box. The process began immediately after handing the bank official the check for the

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