Let’s say your mother owned a safe deposit box at a bank. Before she passed away, she prepared an estate plan naming you as her personal representative, shared the location of her key with you, and authorized you to access the safe deposit box after her death. Even though you may have the proper authority, most banks have an obligation to avoid fraud and will not let you access her safe deposit box until they have conducted several verifications.
The bank may want to verify that your mother has actually passed away. To do so, the bank may request a copy of her death certificate and may request that it be an original certified death certificate. Depending on the bank’s policies, a bank representative may call the agency or department that issued the death certificate to confirm its validity. This is verification of death.
The bank may want to verify that you are authorized to access your mother’s safe deposit box. In some cases, the bank may already have a record of you as an authorized person. If not, you may be asked to provide the bank with documents evidencing your authority, such as a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record evidencing your authorization to access her safe deposit box. In some cases, the bank may request a court order. This is verification of authority.
The bank may want to verify that you are who you claim to be and that you match the authorizing documents. To do so, the bank may request one or more identification documents, including government-issued photo identification documents. This is verification of identity.
Finally, the bank may want to verify that you have the correct key, and ask you to produce it, before they let you access the safe deposit box. This is verification of access.
Whether to protect assets in a safe at a bank or digital assets on a server, these important verifications limit fraud and ensure that only people with the proper authority receive access, and that they only receive access at the proper time.