A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to authorize a deputy to gain access to the contents of a decedent's safe‑deposit box.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 28A‑15‑13(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Definitions. – The following definitions apply to this section:
(1)	Institution. – Any entity or person having supervision or possession of a safe‑deposit box to which a decedent had access.
(1a)	Deputy. – A person appointed in writing by a lessee or cotenant of a safe-deposit box as having right of access to the safe-deposit box without further authority or permission of the lessee or cotenant, in a manner and form designated by the institution.
(2)	Letter of authority. – Letters of administration, letters testamentary, an affidavit of collection of personal property, an order of summary administration, or a letter directed to the institution designating a person entitled to receive the contents of a safe‑deposit box to which the decedent had access. The letter of authority must be signed by the clerk of superior court or by the clerk's representative.
(3)	Qualified person. – A person possessing a letter of authority or a person named as a deputy, lessee or cotenant of the safe‑deposit box to which the decedent had access."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.