Safe deposit box access examined

Decedents’ safe deposit boxes could be accessed more easily under legislation heard by the Judiciary Committee Feb. 19.

LB988, introduced by Columbus Sen. Paul Schumacher, would allow banks and other institutions to facilitate access to a decedent’s safe deposit box to locate a will, deed to a burial plot or burial instructions. The bill would apply only in situations when a decedent is the sole owner or last surviving co-owner of a safe deposit box.

The bill would provide that attorneys, heirs and personal representatives of a decedent, after submitting authorized documentation to institutions, could access safe deposit boxes. Only employees of institutions managing the boxes would be allowed to mail or hand deliver a will to county court. If a box must be cut open, expenses would be charged to the decedent’s estate.

Schumacher said he brought the bill because the state lacks a simple procedure for banks and attorneys to follow when the only copy of a deceased person’s will is in their safe deposit box and no designated representative is available.

Andrew Louden of the Nebraska State Bar Association testified in support of the bill, saying current law delays estate administration and requires unnecessary legal expenses.

“It’s next to impossible to access an original will out of a safe deposit box after someone has died,” he said.

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on LB988.