IBA Compliance Connection

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Is there any law on how and when a safe deposit box can be drilled for non-payment?

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We are not aware of any Illinois law or regulation that expressly addresses drilling safe deposit boxes for nonpayment until the property in the box is presumed abandoned or your bank receives letters of office, another applicable court order, or a small estate affidavit requiring you to open the box and remove its contents. As a result, we believe your right to drill boxes for nonpayment generally depends on your contract with your customer.

If the rental payments have been delinquent for several years, the Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (RUUPA) may be relevant. Under that law, tangible property held in a safe deposit box is presumed abandoned five years after the expiration of the box’s lease or rental period and must be remitted to the State Treasurer.

Your bank may be able to recover unpaid rent charges from property found in a safe deposit box. Property removed from a safe deposit box and delivered to the Treasurer is “subject to the holder’s right to reimbursement for the cost of opening the box and a lien or contract providing reimbursement to the holder for unpaid rent charges for the box.” Consequently, “upon application by the holder, and after there are sufficient cash funds available either from the contents of the box or the sale of the property, the administrator shall reimburse the holder from the proceeds.”

Additionally, the Safety Deposit Box Opening Act requires banks to open a safe deposit box and remove its contents when presented with letters of office, another applicable court order, or a small estate affidavit establishing that the individual has the authority to take those actions. If the bank has not received any of those documents, it may in its discretion open the box and examine its contents in the presence of an “interested person” who presents the bank with a safe deposit box opening affidavit and satisfactory proof of the lessee’s death.

Importantly, even if the interested person provides a valid opening affidavit, they may only examine the contents of the box. No contents may be removed from the box, with the exception of burial documents. If the box contains a will or codicil, your bank must deliver it to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the lessee resided immediately prior to their death.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-205 (“Tangible property held in a safe-deposit box are presumed abandoned if the property remains unclaimed by the apparent owner 5 years after the expiration of the lease or rental period for the box.”)
  • Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-606 (“Property removed from a safe-deposit box and delivered under this Act to the administrator under this Act is subject to the holder’s right to reimbursement for the cost of opening the box and a lien or contract providing reimbursement to the holder for unpaid rent charges for the box. Upon application by the holder, and after there are sufficient cash funds available either from the contents of the box or the sale of the property, the administrator shall reimburse the holder from the proceeds. The administrator shall promulgate administrative rules concerning the reimbursement process under this Section.”)
  • Safety Deposit Box Opening Act, 755 ILCS 15/1 (“Upon being furnished with satisfactory proof of death of a sole lessee or the last surviving co-lessee of a safe deposit box, the lessor shall open the box and examine the contents in the presence of a person who presents himself and furnishes an affidavit which states that (a) he is interested in the filing of the lessee’s will or in the arrangements for his burial, (b) he believes the box may contain the will or burial documents of the lessee and (c) he is an interested person within the meaning of this Act.”)
  • Safety Deposit Box Opening Act, 755 ILCS 15/1 (“For purposes of this Act, the term ‘interested person’ means any person who immediately prior to the death of the lessee had the right of access to the box as a deputy, any person named as executor in a copy furnished by him of a purported will of the lessee, or the spouse, an adult descendant, parent, brother or sister of the lessee. If the affidavit states that none of the persons described above is available to be present at the opening of the box, the term ‘interested person’ also means any other person who the lessor in its sole discretion determines may have a legitimate interest in the filing of the lessee’s will or in the arrangements for his burial.”)
  • Safety Deposit Box Opening Act, 755 ILCS 15/1 (“The lessor shall remove any document which appears to be a will or codicil and deliver it to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the lessee resided immediately prior to his or her death, if known to the lessor, otherwise to the clerk of the circuit court for the county in which the safe deposit box is located. Delivery of a will or codicil called for herein may be made by registered mail sent to the clerk of the said court. The lessor may remove any burial documents and deliver them to the interested person. No other contents may be removed pursuant to this Act.”)