Missouri Laws 362.487 – Joint renters of safe deposit boxes authorized — surviving joint renter ..
1. Any bank or trust company doing a safe deposit business and any safe deposit company owned by a bank or trust company may enter into a lease under which a safe deposit box is rented in the names of two or more persons, whether residents or nonresidents of this state, as joint renters. If the lease provides that one or more of such persons, or the survivor thereof, has access and entry to the box and the right to remove the contents whether the other renter or renters are living, mentally incapacitated or dead, the bank, trust company, or safe deposit company so renting the box, or upon the premises of which the box is located, shall not be liable for the removal of any of the contents of the box by the survivors thereof. No presumption of ownership of the contents of any such box shall be deemed to be created by the rental contract.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, there is no presumption that the lessor has custody of a will when the will is held in a jointly rented safe deposit box. At the lessor’s option, the lessor’s officers and employees are not required to be present when the jointly rented safe deposit box is accessed by the surviving joint renter.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 362.487
- Bank: means any corporation soliciting, receiving or accepting money, or its equivalent, on deposit as a business, whether the deposit is made subject to check, or is evidenced by a certificate of deposit, a passbook, a note, a receipt, or other writing, and specifically a commercial bank chartered under this chapter or a national bank located in this state. See Missouri Laws 362.010
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- State: when applied to any of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" includes such district and territories. See Missouri Laws 1.020