How to Get the Most Out of Your Safe Deposit Box
January 11, 2021
Safe deposit boxes offer a secure place away from your home or office to store your valuables. This includes jewelry, stamp or coin collections, and negotiable items like stock certificates and bonds. It is also an excellent place to keep things that are irreplaceable or have sentimental value. A household inventory (on video or written), appraisals, listings of insurance policies, and credit card numbers should also be kept in a safe deposit box.
The Most Important Decision
Located in vaults at Texas Gulf Bank locations, safe deposit boxes* are fire and water-resistant. When renting a safe deposit box, make sure you choose the right size. Many people start by renting a small box only to discover that it fills up quickly. You also need to determine who is allowed access to the box. The institution will provide a key (or keys) that must be kept in a safe place, but also somewhere you will remember. It is important to note that the institution does NOT insure the contents of a safe deposit box.
Examples of Valuable Items
- Coin and stamp collections
- Negotiable investments like bonds, stock certificates
- Jewelry
Examples of Items Not Easily Replaced
- Family heirlooms, photos, or historical records
- Adoption papers
- Birth certificates
- Citizenship papers
- Military documents
- Marriage or Divorce papers
Examples of Items That Should Be Kept Safe but available
- Vital backup data files from your PC
- Passports, if they are seldom used
- Contracts and business agreements
- Real estate deeds and mortgages
- Confidential records
- Copies of essential financial records that you keep at home
- Copies of wills, living trust documents, powers of attorneys
What Not to Keep in Your Safe Deposit Box
Remember that only you and your designated people can open your safe deposit box without a court order. Items that others may need to obtain if you are not present should not be kept in your box.
Original wills, powers of attorney, living trust documents, and other trust documents should not be in your safe deposit box. Insurance policies should usually be available and not kept in the box. Finally, check your safe deposit box regularly and keep a list of what it contains, so you remember.
Annual rental prices vary based on box size and location; key deposit–$25.00 per box; and box drilling–$50.00 each plus vendor’s charge.
Interested in renting a safe deposit box from Texas Gulf Bank?
Contact us at 800-467-7216.
*Safe Deposit boxes and their contents are:
- NOT A DEPOSIT
- NOT FDIC-INSURED
- NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY
- NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK OR AN AFFILIATE OF THE BANK