A. Unless otherwise provided in a written agreement, if the rental due on a safe deposit box has not been paid for six months, the lessor may send a notice by certified or registered mail to the last known address of the lessee stating that the safe deposit box will be opened and its contents stored at the expense of the lessee unless payment is made within thirty days. If the rental is not paid within thirty days from the mailing of the notice, the safe deposit box may be opened in the presence of an executive officer of the lessor and of a notary public. The contents of the box shall be sealed in a package by the notary public who shall write on the outside the name of the lessee and the date of the opening. The notary public shall execute a certificate reciting the name of the lessee, the date of the opening of the safe deposit box and a list of its contents. The certificate shall be included in the package and a copy of the certificate shall be sent by registered mail to the last known address of the lessee. The package shall then be placed in the general vaults of the lessor at a rental not exceeding the rental charged for the safe deposit box.
B. If the contents of the safe deposit box are not claimed within the time prescribed by the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act [Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (1995), 7-8A-30 NMSA 1978], they shall be disposed of as provided in that act.
History: Laws 1991, ch. 51, § 26.
ANNOTATIONSBracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.