TODO_LEGAL_REVIEW. Legal statements on this page need review by a Florida attorney before launch.
Mail-in and out of county
When nobody can get to Fort Lauderdale
The case may be in one county, the house in another, and the family in another state. Documents can still reach the box by mail. Valuables are a separate question.
A case can be heard in one county while the house sits in another and the family member handling things lives in a different state. Fort Lauderdale may be nowhere near any of them.
For papers, distance does not stop anything. Documents can be mailed in from anywhere in the US. We place them in the renter's box and mail the key back. A mail-in renter is identified before any box is opened in their name, the same as every renter here.
Decide what to send. Deeds, titles, wills, birth certificates and insurance policies are the usual candidates, and deeds, titles and documents covers what to gather and how to list it. Keep copies of everything before it goes, and write your own list of what is in the envelope. Which carrier you use and how you insure the parcel are your decisions.
Valuables are different, and the answer is not confirmed yet. Until it is, plan on jewelry, watches and coins arriving in person, by appointment, Monday to Friday. If a family member will bring them for you, read agent access by power of attorney and what to sort before a sentence first.
What matters
- Documents can be mailed in from anywhere in the US.
- They are placed in the renter's box, and the key is mailed back.
- A mail-in renter is identified before any box is opened in their name.
- Keep copies, and your own list of what was in the envelope.
- Valuables by mail are not confirmed. Plan to bring them in person.
How we handle it
- How a mail-in renter is identified: TODO_FACT: how are mail-in renters identified before a box is opened?
- Valuables by mail: TODO_FACT: can valuables, not documents, be mailed in?
- Contents sent back out: TODO_FACT: how can contents be mailed out of the box?
- Everything that goes in is listed on a signed intake inventory, and the renter keeps a copy.
Where we stop
We name no carrier and make no promise about a parcel before it reaches us. We will not open a box in anyone's name until that person has been identified.
Short answers
- Do I have to visit Fort Lauderdale to rent a box for papers?
- Not for documents. They can be mailed in from anywhere in the US, and the key is mailed back. Valuables by mail are not confirmed.
- Can someone inside a facility mail documents directly?
- Each facility sets its own rules on mail and property, so check with the facility. A family member or the attorney mailing on the person's behalf is usually the simpler path.
- What should go in the envelope with the documents?
- Your own list of what is enclosed and how to reach you. Anything else we need: TODO_FACT: what paperwork must accompany a mail-in?
Questions people ask about this
More on how it works
Agent access by power of attorney
A Florida power of attorney names who acts for you: how it is signed, who may serve, what to ask.
Prepaid multi-year terms
A multi-year term takes 20% to 25% off each year's rent. The smallest box on three years is $636 a year.
If the rent lapses
Unpaid box rent starts a clock. Florida's bank rule, what our agreement says, and how to keep the clock from starting.
Release and pickup
Who may open the box when the sentence ends, what they must bring, and why that plan is made beforehand.
Settle it before the date, not after.
A short call is usually enough to know whether a box is the right answer. If it is not, we will say so. Attorneys and family members are welcome to call on a client's behalf.