If you can help it, don't apply for a bank safe deposit box....and here is why...

Dear all,

I hope by this entry, everyone can learn from my experience and not to go through this.

My mum has a safe deposit box with a local bank....and to close it, is just not so simple as just like closing the box and returing the keys, like what you would normally do in returning rental lockers. Matters are more complicated than what I think coz firstly, it is under her own name ONLY.

So, naturally, being the next of kin, we would like to have a proper closure to this matter and to move on...but then according to the banking policy (quite common across all local banks) the NOK has to appoint a lawyer who in turn will apply to the court for a Letter of Administration or sometimes it is known as the Court Order or Letter of Grant or something like that. This ultimate letter issued by the court, which can take about 4 to 6 months to issue after going a series of court documents (about 10 sets in all), only then the box can be opened in the present of the lawyer, the NOK and the bank officials at a stipulated fixed time and date. The opening of this box is sometimes what they called the inventory taking of the box. Without this letter, the inventory taking of the box cannot proceed accordingly.

Now, comes to the money part. Court filing fees alone can cost the NOK $600 to $700. Now, taking lawyer professional fees, all in all, it will cost the NOK about $2500 to $ 3000 -----just to eventually open an empty box infront of few human beings in the most secured environment + airconditioned thrown in. So, if you have just only a few pieces of documents like your birth cert, whatever cert, certificate of attendance for your first-aid course and other courses etc in my opinion, keep at home lah, not unless you have drawn up a highly sensitive will which may potentially be a source of conflict among the surviving family members, then it is only right to keep it in the safe deposit box or some solid gold bars or strata titles etc.........if not don't bother to apply for one. Also not cheap, per year rental is about $160.

And yes, by the way, if you are thinking that by including joint names of your family members, you may save all this hassle....but this is only good when all parties are still alive meaning to say that any of the parties can operate the box...but the scenario changes the minute if either one of the holders to the box dies....the same procedure applies. The box will still be sealed and the above procedure still holds. I have just spoken to a lawyer...before blogging this. I may be wrong in my understanding during the conversation I had with him...but then I don't think I am that far off. I will update you all...when I go through this process eventually...this is just only the beginning///Bank accounts are treated quite differently and much simpler..I will update you all on this later on.

Gotta to go home now!
Bye for now and God Bless!

Albert Y