Returning Prepaid Rent

[Bartholomew B.]

I had a tenant move in who agreed to pay for a year upfront because he had no credit score. He passed away two months into a 12-month lease, and now his brother is asking for a refund of the unused rent. I have no problem returning the unused rent, but I want to make sure I return it to the proper person. I believe the brother is the next of kin, but I have no way to verify that there isn't a wife, child, or some other relation that should receive the refunded rent. 

I asked the brother to get named the administrator of the deceased estate by a probate judge before I would release the funds to him. The brother is getting agitated with the situation and wants the funds returned. Has anyone else had to deal with a similar situation? How did you handle it? 

[Tim Miller]

We had a discussion about this at a landlord's meeting with the head of the Probate Court here in Maryland. He clearly stated that you must get a letter from the Probate Court stating who the Executor of the estate is. He said it's really simple for the person that is to be the executor to get this litter. All they have to do is go to the probate office and show them that they have been name the executor and they will give him the letter with the court seal.

Now if there is no will, then it has to go to court for a judge to decide. Until this is done, I wouldn't get any money to anyone. Nor would I allow anyone into the apartment. Again, only the executor is allowed to go into the apartment to remove anything. I'm sure Illinois is similar and I would error on the side of caution. Good Luck.