Renting a safety deposit box can be an effective, and affordable, way to store and protect important documents, family heirlooms, and priceless valuables. The convenience alone makes it an attractive alternative to a home or office safe, and with your possessions being stored alongside of the bank's own assets you can be sure they will be properly protected.
As a general rule of thumb, a safety deposit box should be used to store any personal possessions that you simply can't afford to lose. That could mean anything from your marriage license to your grandmother's antique brooch. When deciding what to put into a safe deposit box, it's important to remember that it's not just about protecting those items from theft. You should also consider what could be lost through negligence or natural disaster. For example, if you have stock certificates stored in a lock-box in the den they could easily be lost in a fire or flood, and that could mean a substantial financial setback for you and your family.
The most common items people store in their safety deposit boxes include:
- Family Documents (birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc)
- Property Deeds and Titles
- Mortgage Documents
- Insurance Policies and an Inventory of Personal Possessions
- Personal and Business Contracts
- Financial Documents (stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit)
- Miscellaneous Valuables (jewelry, antiques, collectibles, family heirlooms, etc)
While nearly anything of value can be stored in a safety deposit box, there are some things that probably shouldn't go in. Chief among these are any important legal documents that you, or your family, might need to access in an emergency. For example, a will or power of attorney should be left in the care of your lawyer. In the event of an accident, or sudden death, your dependents will need to retrieve these documents in a timely manner, and that may not be possible if they are locked away in a bank vault. Particularly if you are the only key holder. Other items include
Items not to include in your safety deposit box:
- Passports
- Medical Directives or Durable Powers of Attorney,
- Health Care Proxies
- Revocable Living Wills
- Prohibited Items
If you rent the box by yourself, don’t store your will, trust documents or anything else your heirs might need.
Other ways to protect your belongings: If you’re storing items that could be damaged by water — like photos, papers or a stamp collection — seal them in water-safe, zippered plastic bags and seal those inside Tupperware or similar containers.
Stop by any of our locations to open a safety deposit box today. Variety of sizes available. Call us today at 319.291.2000 for current rental fee.
Contents are not FDIC insured and CBT does not guarantee items may not be lost/damaged in the event of a disaster.
Sources:
bankrate.com, mortgagecalculator.org