Published: 2015-07-09
Key Benefits:
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a public administrator, government official, law enforcement agency, the hospital or institution in which a decedent died, or the decedent’s employer, may, without the need to wait 40 days after death, deliver the tangible personal property of the decedent in its possession, including keys to the decedent’s residence, to the decedent’s surviving spouse, relative, or conservator or guardian of the estate acting in that capacity at the time of death.
(b) A person shall not deliver property pursuant to this section if the person knows or has reason to believe that there is a dispute over the right to possession of the property.
(c) A person that delivers property pursuant to this section shall require reasonable proof of the status and identity of the person to whom the property is delivered, and may rely on any document described in subdivision (d) of Section 13104 as proof of identity.
(d) A person that delivers property pursuant to this section shall, for a period of three years after the date of delivery of the property, keep a record of the property delivered and the status and identity of the person to whom the property is delivered.
(e) Delivery of property pursuant to this section does not determine ownership of the property or confer any greater rights in the property than the recipient would otherwise have and does not preclude later proceedings for administration of the decedent’s estate. If proceedings for administration of the decedent’s estate are commenced, the person holding the property shall deliver it to the personal representative on request by the personal representative.
(f) A person that delivers property pursuant to this section is not liable for loss or damage to the property caused by the person to whom the property is delivered.
(Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.)
(a) This section applies only to a safe deposit box in a financial institution held by the decedent in the decedent’s sole name, or held by the decedent and others where all are deceased. Nothing in this section affects the rights of a surviving coholder.
(b) A person who has a key to the safe deposit box may, before letters have been issued, obtain access to the safe deposit box only for the purposes specified in this section by providing the financial institution with both of the following:
(1) Proof of the decedent’s death. Proof shall be provided by a certified copy of the decedent’s death certificate or by a written statement of death from the coroner, treating physician, or hospital or institution where the decedent died.
(2) Reasonable proof of the identity of the person seeking access. Reasonable proof of identity is provided for the purpose of this paragraph if the requirements of Section 13104 are satisfied.
(c) The financial institution has no duty to inquire into the truth of any statement, declaration, certificate, affidavit, or document offered as proof of the decedent’s death or proof of identity of the person seeking access.
(d) When the person seeking access has satisfied the requirements of subdivision (b), the financial institution shall do all of the following:
(1) Keep a record of the identity of the person.
(2) Permit the person to open the safe deposit box under the supervision of an officer or employee of the financial institution, and to make an inventory of its contents.
(3) Make a photocopy of all wills and trust instruments removed from the safe deposit box, and keep the photocopy in the safe deposit box until the contents of the box are removed by the personal representative of the estate or other legally authorized person. The financial institution may charge the person given access a reasonable fee for photocopying.
(4) Permit the person given access to remove instructions for the disposition of the decedent’s remains, and, after a photocopy is made, to remove the wills and trust instruments.
(e) The person given access shall deliver all wills found in the safe deposit box to the clerk of the superior court and mail or deliver a copy to the person named in the will as executor or beneficiary as provided in Section 8200.
(f) Except as provided in subdivision (d), the person given access shall not remove any of the contents of the decedent’s safe deposit box.
(Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 1055, Sec. 15.)
