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.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 17th day of June, 2003.

	_____________________________________
		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	_____________________________________
		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2003