TODO_LEGAL_REVIEW. Legal statements on this page need review by a Florida attorney before launch.
For families
When someone you love is going away for years
The ring, the watch, the deed and the passport usually end up with you. Here is how to keep them recorded and reachable until they come home, without taking on more than you agreed to.
Families end up as the storage plan by default. A jewelry box goes to a parent’s closet. A watch goes in a sibling’s drawer. Nobody writes anything down, because everyone expects to remember. Five years later there has been a move, an illness, or an argument, and the person coming home asks where their grandfather’s ring went.
A vault box does not replace you. It takes the part of the job that is hardest to do for years: keeping the things themselves untouched, recorded and paid for. You stay the person who knows where they are, and, if the renter chooses, the person who can act.
Timing matters more than anything
Before the surrender date
The person going away can still sign everything: the rental agreement, a power of attorney, the intake inventory. Almost every option is open. This is the time to do it.
After custody begins
Signing anything gets slower. Witnesses and a notary must reach the person through the facility's own process, and some arrangements may no longer be possible. Ask the facility and the attorney what can be done.
A Florida power of attorney must be signed by the principal and two witnesses and acknowledged before a notary. Read how a power of attorney for an inmate works in Florida, and ask the attorney who should prepare it.
Source: Florida Statutes § 709.2105 (2026) — checked 2026-10-19.
- Keep a copy of the signed inventory somewhere you will find it in five years.
- Know who is named on the rental agreement, and whether that includes you.
- Put the end date of the prepaid term in your calendar, with a reminder a year ahead.
- Keep the vault's phone number with the other numbers that matter while they are away.
- If anyone asks you to move an item that may be part of the case, check with the attorney first.
What families ask
- Can I rent the box in my own name and keep their things in it?
- If the items are being given to you, that is a change of ownership, and the attorney should know about it before it happens. Moving property to avoid a judgment, restitution or forfeiture is not something we take part in.
- Can I visit the box while they are away?
- Only if the rental agreement names you, as a joint renter or an authorized person, and you are identified against photo ID on every visit. TODO_FACT: is a durable POA agent accepted, and what must the agent show?
- Who do I call if something changes?
- Call us on the number at the foot of this page. Changes to who may enter are made with the renter's signature. TODO_FACT: how a renter in custody signs a change to the agreement
- Will you contact us if the rent is about to run out?
- TODO_FACT: who receives renewal and lapse notices, and how far ahead? Renting for longer than the expected sentence avoids the question.
Before the surrender date
Settle it before the date, not after.
Family members are welcome to call on someone's behalf. The renter still has to be identified and sign, but the planning can start with you.