Another Reminder to Gather up All of Your Vital Documents!

[BumRushDaShow]

9. What MM said is true

My parents kept a safe deposit box for decades at the bank they used for their mortgage and regular banking. They used the branch that was close to where we lived (literally walking distance). The parent bank was sold 5 times over the past 40 years but the branch building where the box was, was handed over to a different bank as part of all the buyout agreements, and that bank kept the boxes, and billed annually (which I paid for after my mom passed).

Then about 5 years ago, the latest sale of that bank branch resulted in the owner deciding to get rid of the boxes and they notified those who were maintaining them, to come in to the branch by some "x" date to collect any contents they might have had in the boxes or any items in them would be destroyed.

I didn't think there was anything in the one I was renting but I went there anyway, completed the claim forms, showed ID, etc., and they brought the box out for me to check (it was empty). I even had the original key but they didn't need it because they had a locksmith in there who drilled the locks on all the boxes. They closed the account at that point.

I remember as a kid, that branch building had a little drive-thru window and whenever we were in the car when our parents went to the bank, the teller had a pile of lollypops to give us!