UPDATE (May 16, 2011):
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has just updated its guidelines regarding entry into safe deposit boxes after the owner’s death. Effective May 11, 2011, the executor or administrator of an Estate may conduct an inventory of a safe deposit box without an attorney, bank employee, or Department of Revenue employee present after giving notice to the Department of Revenue. The requirements of the Notice are outlined here (Inheritance Tax Bulletin 2011-02). The executor or administrator must also return a completed Safe Deposit Box Inventory Form REV-485 to the Department of Revenue within 20 days of entering the safe deposit box.
Original Post:
After someone dies, one issue that can arise is the handling of any items the individual left in a safe deposit box. In Pennsylvania there are rules dictating who can enter a deceased person’s safe deposit box and for what reasons.
The general rule is that no one can enter someone’s safe deposit box after he or she dies, except to remove a will and/or burial instructions. A bank employee must be present when these items are removed. The bank employee must complete a PA Form REV-487 (Entry Into a Safe Deposit Box To Remove A Will or Cemetery Deed) to record the entry and mail it to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Before a will or burial instructions can be removed, the items must be inventoried.
In fact, all contents of a safe deposit box must be inventoried after the owner dies, with one exception: safe deposit boxes owned jointly by a husband and wife need not be inventoried as long as one spouse is alive. The policy behind the inventory requirement is to find any assets in the safe deposit box that are subject to Pennsylvania’s inheritance tax. The spousal exception exists because there is no inheritance tax on assets that pass between spouses, which happens if one of the married joint owners dies.
A bank employee, an authorized attorney who represents the deceased person’s estate, or a representative of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue may conduct an inventory. To arrange an inventory, contact the bank where the box is located. If the bank will not perform the inventory, the estate’s attorney can perform the inventory, or you can contact the Department of Revenue’s office that serves the county where the box is located (see list here).
The executor or administrator of the estate must be present at the inventory. If the deceased person owned the box with a joint owner who is still alive, the surviving owner should also be present.