Please Help! Tenant Passed Away, Family Can't Agree On Anything

[Dave Jackson]

Hello BiggerPockets Community, I am having an issue with one of my rental units in Indiana. Keeping the story short, a tenant passed away in the unit a couple months ago. They had no will. There are four family members that are claiming rights to the tenant's property. The tenant was a hoarder and the property is filled with junk, but the family still wants it. Problem is, the family does not get along. There is no power of attorney and thus they want to take this to court. Obviously, this can take a long time. Meanwhile, I can't turn the unit or rent it. It would cost me considerable time and money to move and store the junk, not to mention concerns with trash and bugs.

What are my options? Since we can't just throw everything away since family is claiming property rights, property management is saying we have to now go through an attorney which is going to cost me a lot of money. Property management is also saying since there's no power of attorney or will, I can't bill back the family for lost rent or cost of this. Even if the court does grant an executor to state, they're saying it would likely be an uphill battle recouping costs. Is it really this complicated? Many thanks.

[Jeff Copeland]

1. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong. 

2. What does the lease say abut being "binding upon the heirs, executors, administrators, and successors" or something to that effect?

3. (Depending on the answer to #2) - If the heirs are claiming the lease is still in effect and they are keeping possession of your property under the terms of the lease, then the estate will be paying you rent under the terms of the lease. They can't have it both ways, and they can't keep possession of your property without paying rent. 

4. A reasonable compromise is perhaps to put their stuff in storage while the estate hashes it out. But make sure this is done correctly with an inventory, etc. You don't want the heirs claiming you stole the estate's $50,000 diamond tiara. Your attorney should be able to help coordinate this. 

5. Hire an attorney. It will be much cheaper than the lost rent, vacancy, and turnover costs you'll eat if you get this wrong.

6. Hire an attorney.