If a person wants to request authority to open a safe deposit box, must they file a Small Estate, Administration, or Probate proceeding?
Answer
Yes. The only exception is if the box is believed in good faith to contain "a will of the decedent, a deed to a burial plot
in which the decedent is to be interred or a policy of insurance issued in the name of the decedent and payable to a designated beneficiary." Surrogate's Court Procedure Act §2003. A DIY form for this purpose is linked below.