Offshore Safe Deposit Boxes

Filed under: offshore

You might well, sooner or later, end up in possession of sensitive papers or other portable assets of great value that should be kept in a safe place – like an offshore safety deposit facility.
A safety deposit box is also recommended for estate-planning purposes. To pass the contents of a safe deposit box without any formalities all that is necessary is that another person have access and a key. This is accomplished by having the inheritor be a signer on the box. If you don’t want them to have access during your lifetime, you keep the key and arrange for it to be delivered to them in a sealed envelope with instructions, upon your death or disablement.

SHOULD YOU USE A BANK OR AN INDEPENDENT BOX COMPANY?

Generally, the best solution is to rent a safety deposit box in a reliable major, first class bank – not just a box company. Many banks will require that you also have an account with them and that withdrawals to pay the box rent be authorized in advance.

Why should you use a bank rather than an independent safe deposit company? Because independent companies seem to fold or get robbed with great regularity. Like public storage facilities, they are also frequently used by less-desirable characters. As a result, the client lists of independents tend to be under a higher degree of Big Brother surveillance than regular bank safe deposit facilities.

On the other hand, a private storage outfit may not require any identification to open a box. They may accept any nom de plume you care to give them. Customers may be admitted on the basis of a plastic card without any need to sign in. As such a box is not linked to any account or payment facility, it behoves the user to pay several years in advance. This will avoid the box being opened and the contents sold for non-payment of rent.

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