I think that my father’s will is in his safe deposit box but the bank won’t let me access it. What should I do?

Often a person will keep his or her important documents such as an original will in a safe deposit box at the bank. Unfortunately, there is a catch-22 situation when a family member needs to obtain the original will to open probate, but has no authority to do so until probate is opened. In order to resolve this problem, the court can issue an order directing the bank or credit union to allow a person named in the order to examine the safe deposit box in the presence of a bank representative and take the will in order to file it with the probate court. However, the person cannot remove any other items from the safe deposit box until probate is opened. If you find yourself in this situation, you can file a petition with the probate court to open safe deposit box to obtain a will.