Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

In almost every situation, when a box owner passes away, an order is required from surrogate's court to open and inventory it. However, you will not be required to go through separate procedures, as once the order to inventory it is issued, if ownership can be established the contents can be removed.

When you say you owned the box jointly with your father, if you are describing a joint tenancy with right of survivorship in the ownership of the box, then, like a bank account or piece of real property that is owned in a joint tenancy with right of survivorship, the box and its contents should pass to you by operation of law upon your father's death. However, its not enough for the two of you to have been co-owner's, it must be a legal joint tenancy with right of survivorship.If it was not such a joint tenancy, then you will be required to obtain an order to open and inventory the box