In the initial stages of claiming the assets, everything was going well until I found out that the belligerent beneficiary (beneficiary) was the new owner of the safe deposit box (the box). As described in the article Opening the Safe Deposit Box of an Estate, the executor must follow a process to open a safe deposit box. So, as executor, I had to carry out the following tasks after the gruesome discovery:  

• Call the beneficiary. Inform the beneficiary that, as the owner of the safe deposit box, they must be present to open the box.   

• Instruct the beneficiary to call the bank and set an appointment to open the box.

• Since the key wasn’t found on the estate, ask the beneficiary about the key.

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