It’s not a good idea to be the only name listed on a safety deposit box and place your estate plan in the box. Once the person who leases that box passes away, no one else can access the box. That means your executor or trustee can’t get to the important estate planning documents to even prove that he/she is your executor, much less obtain access to the other contents of that box.
Illinois has created a process for dealing with this all too common scenario. However, it’s not a quick and easy process. If the executor is even aware of the safety deposit box, then the executor can follow a process laid out in the Illinois Safety Deposit Box Opening Act. If an interested person believes there is a will contained inside a safety deposit box, he/she may present an affidavit to the bank requesting access to the safety deposit box for the sole purpose of determining if the box includes the will.
The bank will make the final determination on whether the individual qualifies as an interested person, meaning the bank could refuse access to the box. They can also refuse access for several other reasons. Due to liability reasons, banks are making access to safety deposit boxes difficult, even if access is granted in a power of attorney. Also, access policies differ from bank to bank.
Though Illinois has created a method for an interested party to take a look inside the safety deposit box for the sole purpose of seeing if the will is located inside, you’d be making the task of settling your estate much more difficult.
Instead, store the documents in a fire safe at home (making sure someone has access to that safe of course) or a safe place. Make sure your executor/trustee knows where those documents are. If you are comfortable with allowing your executor/trustee access to the safety deposit box during your life, then make sure that person not only has a key, but is also on the paperwork at the bank and can access the box. You may have a spouse listed on the box as well. That’s good until something happens to one of you (such as death or incapacity) remember to add a third person to have access to the box.