Topic: Safety Deposit Boxes
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Can we drill a safe deposit box if rent goes unpaid for twelve months? Our current practice is to wait until the box must be reported to the state as abandoned – after five years – but our safe deposit box agreement authorizes us to forcibly open the box after a six month default and sixty days written notice. We would like to shorten our practice and drill earlier, if possible.
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While the Illinois Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act requires your bank to report and remit safe deposit box property five years after the lease expires, it does not prevent you from drilling the box before that date. The Act expressly recognizes the practice of drilling safe deposit boxes and selling the property before remitting…
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We are changing several of our fees and plan to provide advance notice of our increased overdraft fees. Is there an advance notice requirement for cashier’s check fees and safe deposit box drilling fees?
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We agree that you should provide advance notice of an increase in overdraft fees, as Regulation DD requires you to provide advance notice of any change in terms that will adversely affect your customers at least thirty calendar days before the change takes effect. 12 CFR 1030.5(a)(1). We are not aware of any requirement for…
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We are selling one of our branches to another financial institution. Do we need to notify our state or federal regulators? Do we need to notify consumers when we close a branch?
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We are not aware of any requirement to notify your federal regulators when you sell a branch to another financial institution, provided that the branch will not be closed. We are also not aware of any Illinois law that addresses a branch closing. Of course, it is likely a prudent practice to notify any branch…
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We received a request from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services requesting information about a customer’s deposit accounts. Since the customer also has a safety deposit box with us, should we report that to the DHFS as well?
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Based on the information you have given us, we do not believe that the bank should respond to the Department of Healthcare and Family Services letter requesting information on a customer’s checking accounts. Even confirming that an individual was a customer of the bank would risk violating the customer’s privacy rights, as would providing information…
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Do any laws require us to hold signature cards for dormant accounts under dual control in safe deposit boxes, or is this a bank policy decision?
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We are not aware of any laws that would require the bank to hold signature cards for dormant accounts in dual control safety deposit boxes. While the Banking Act mandates the Commissioner of Banks to promulgate record retention rules, no such rules have been published. 205 ILCS 5/48.6. And, the federal agencies’ Interagency Guidelines Establishing…
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What are the record retention requirements for safety deposit box contracts or signature cards? Is there a requirement or a recommendation?
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Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for written contracts in Illinois is ten years. 735 ILCS 5/13-206. Consequently, you may wish to retain your safety deposit box contracts and signature cards for ten years after the termination of the contract.
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If one co-owner of a safe deposit box wants to drill the box with a court order, can we allow that?
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Under the lease agreement, it may be possible for one co-lessee to access the safety deposit box without the permission of the other co-lessee. If the guardian has all the powers of the individual (as determined by court order), he or she may have the power to access the box.
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Can a customer name a payable on death (POD) beneficiary on a safe deposit box?
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We do not believe it is possible to make a safety deposit box payable on death. Payable on death accounts are authorized by the Illinois Trust and Payable on Death Accounts Act. That law defines “account” to include “any account, deposit, certificate of deposit, withdrawable capital account or credit union share.” 205 ILCS 625/2(b). A…
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We reported a safe deposit box as abandoned property under the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act. However, after drilling the boxes and doing inventories, we somehow lost track of the contents of the boxes. How should we report this to the State Treasurer?
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From the facts you gave us, we do not see any reason that you would be exempted from reporting the unclaimed property to the state. The Illinois Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act [Repealed effective 1/1/18] requires banks to report and remit funds and personal property from safe deposit boxes that have been dormant for…