tenant died, her children taken by CA state agency, what do I do for her belongings?

[Jessica Yzhang]

tenant died, her children taken by CA state agency, what do I do for her belongings? How long I have to wait for someone to claim them? Can I change the locker or get into the empty house?

[Jon Holdman]

This is, at most, a $100 bill for 15-30 minutes of a lawyer's time. I paid a lawyer $200 some years ago to review my lease. Since then I've called that firm with several other questions, not unlike this one, and they've just checked that I was a client and then answered my questions. They've yet to send me another bill. I would happily pay it if they did. This could turn into a significant expense if there is some complex procedure. But just asking "how do I proceed" shouldn't incur any significant expense.

OTOH, doing the wrong thing could result in significant lost rent if, say, her ex comes out of the woodwork and tries to claim access to the unit and her stuff. Or if someone tries to claim possessions that have been improperly disposed of. Of if Jessica Yzhang chooses to move the stuff into storage when it would be legitimate to trash it.