It seems that the banking industry, after three years, can consider your safety deposit account abandoned (even if you’re up to date on payments) and seize your property.
They can then auction your property off for whatever they determine to be “fair market value,” and place that money into their general fund to do with as they wish.
If you have a safety deposit box, here are some tips from the ABC News video below:
- Make contact at least once a year, so the account can’t be considered abandoned
- Make a list of your accounts so your heirs know where your valuables are located
There’s some very unhappy people in this video who say they weren’t contacted to claim the property before the bank considered it abandoned.