Obtaining a Will That Has Been Stored in a Safe Deposit Box

        How does a named personal representative (that is, one who has been nominated as personal representative in the deceased’s Will) obtain access to the decedent’s Will when the Will is locked in a safe deposit box at a bank and the only person allowed access to the safe deposit box is the decedent?  Arizona Revised Statutes 6-1008, the text of which I’ve provided below, provides a remedy for this situation.  Essentially, when a person dies, two employees of the bank may open the safe deposit box for a person who claims to be interested in the contents of the safe deposit box.  For example, a named personal representative in a Will located in the safe deposit box would qualify as an “interested person” under the statute.  Employees of the bank may also remove any life insurance policies and deliver them to the beneficiaries named in the policies.

6-1008. Procedure on death of lessee

        In the event only one lessee is named in the lease of a repository and the lessee dies, or on the death of last surviving lessee under a tenancy in two or more names, the repository may be opened by two employees of the lessor in the presence of any person who presents himself and claims to be interested in the contents. The employees may remove any document which appears to be of a testamentary nature and deliver it to any person named in the document as executor or to a clerk of the superior court. The employees may also remove any policies insuring the life of the deceased lessee and deliver them to the beneficiaries named in the policies. All other contents of the repository shall be retained by the lessor and shall be delivered only to the person legally entitled to them.

 

Disclaimer 

The Importance of Complying With Statutory Requirements When Providing Notice to Creditors

      

        Pursuant to A.R.S. § 14-3801, the personal representative of an estate must publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county announcing the appointment, the personal representative’s address, and notifying creditors of the estate to present their claims within four months after the date of the first publication of the notice or be forever barred.  In addition, a personal representative shall give written notice to all known creditors of the personal representative’s appointment.  The notice shall also notify all known creditors to present their claims within four months or be forever barred. 

        In BMO Harris Bank NA v. Espiau 1 CA-CV 20-0460, the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, held the statute requiring notice for claims against a decedent’s estate must be strictly complied with.  If a notice does not include all required information, including the deadline for presenting claims, the time limit does not begin to run.  This is true even if the recipient of an incomplete notice is a sophisticated and experienced bank.  

 

Disclaimer