Here is a small estate planning detail that can create a surprisingly expensive headache.
If you or your parents have gone to the trouble of naming a POD, or payable-on-death, beneficiary on bank accounts, please do the same for the safe deposit box. The bank account and the safe deposit box are not always handled the same way. We have seen families surprised to learn that the checking account passed easily, but the box did not, and that one overlooked detail was the only reason a probate was required. Bank staff may not explain a difference, notice the safe deposit box on the accounts, or volunteer a helpful question.
Ask the bank, in writing if possible, whether the safe deposit box has its own survivorship, authorized signer, or transfer-on-death process, and make sure it matches the rest of the plan.
Along the same lines, please remove the Last Will & Testament from the safe deposit box if that is where it’s stored. In the worst-case scenario, it may remain locked up while a probate proceeds as if there were no known wishes.