The rings, chains and earrings that stay behind

Jewelry is small enough to slip into a pocket and valuable enough to tempt someone who would never carry off a television. Left in a dresser drawer, it is open to every visitor, every roommate, and every move the household makes while you are away. Left with a relative, it depends on that relative's home, health and memory. For years.

Most families have never written it down. They know there was a gold chain and a ring from a grandmother, but not the karat, the stones, or what an appraiser once said. Without a record, a missing piece becomes an argument. So before anything moves, photograph each piece on a plain surface, note any engraving or hallmark, and gather whatever appraisals and receipts exist.

A bank box is not an automatic answer. Its rent comes due every year, and a sentence measured in years outlasts plenty of autopay arrangements; read what happens when box rent goes unpaid. Our approach is a prepaid multi-year term, a signed inventory that lists each piece, and one named person with authority to reach it.

One caution, stated plainly. If any piece is, or may be, part of the case (as evidence, in a forfeiture claim, or toward restitution), ask your attorney before it is moved anywhere. We honour warrants, subpoenas and court orders. A vault box keeps property in order. It does not take property out of a case.