I Live in South Carolina. Mother in nursing facility in Los Angeles with Advanced stage four cancer. She has No will. I am not listed as a beneficiary and obtaining a POA not possible due to Covid 19 and no Notary may not go into the facility. Her apartment manager wants her belongings gone by the end of the month and I do not have the resources to do so. I have a job, home and animals to take care of and live alone. No siblings. So here I sit.
There could be an elder care non profit that could help out. From my understanding they cannot simply dispose of the property either. I suggest you read up on CA eviction laws. I think they are very liberally in the tenants favor.
However, I think the one out a landlord has is if the rent was in arrears before the pandemic.
Contact the housing authority in L.A. and get the specifics on the rules right now. It might buy you time, but on the other hand, does she have anything worth keeping?
I work for a senior move management company in NC. There are senior move managers throughout the country. They will clean out the apartment; pack what is being saved and take care of getting rid of items that need to be either trashed or donated. They can coordinate moving items with moving companies. In some states, senior move managers are considered an ‘essential business’. Go to nasmm.org to learn more. A senior move manager also knows other agencies to assist seniors with this situation.
Notary: hospital’s have them on staff, so ask the nursing facility. Hospitals also have the documents for POA and living wills. Using technology, the facility should be able to assist. They are under a lot of stress right now so it’s going to take a lot of patience and kindness on your part; stay strong🙏
Until until we got her moved, what I had to do was rely on my friends and my contacts in the city and the state where my mom live to help me out. So do you have any of your friends are contacts that live near where your mom is that could help you out? If you do, then maybe they could go into the apartment and retrieve photos or anything that looks like something that you would want. The other question is do you even have a key to get into your mom's apartment? Will the landlord let you in or let a friend of yours in the apartment? Also if you have the money to travel across the country to do this yourself, do you have any friends in South Carolina that can watch your dogs while you go to California? Surely and hopefully your employer could be understanding that you need to go do this and they will give you some time off to take care of personal business like this.
Other than being able to do any of the above, I can only agree with the others who have posted that possibly a charity or a church organization or an advocacy group or individual can Take action on your part. What about calling Adult Protective Services in California and alerting them to the situation and see if they can do anything. Also what if you file an injunction to stop the landlord from taking action that will give you time to figure out what you can do and what you want to do. It seems right now this is new information to you about your mom and it's very upsetting. It's really hard to make these decisions when you feel like you've been clocked in the head with an emotional baseball bat. Definitely reach out within your community to get some support for yourself right now whether it's emotional or legal advice or anyting. Self care for yourself is important because this is very traumatic for you right now and you need some support of your own.
"2.A temporary moratorium on eviction for nonpayment of rent by residential and commercial tenants impacted by the COVID-19 crisis is imposed as follows:a.No landlord shall endeavor to evict a residential or commercial tenant for nonpayment of rent due to financial impacts related to COVID-19, until twelve months after the expiration of this Order. "
There's also something about major health issues a well. Here's the link again..
https://dcba.lacounty.gov/noevictions/
Is there anyway for you to go for a day or so just to search for these things yourself - and have someone in SC look after your pets for a brief period? You could call ahead and ask a local charity to meet you to load up everything and remove it and you would have the important documents. If you really wanted to go, I'm sure there is someone you know where you live who would do pet care for a couple of days. And, I just can't imagine a facility not having someone on staff who can notarize something for you/your mom.
If you donate and don't clean the apt, so what. Mom just won't get a deposit back. You won't spend time cleaning and can go back home.
When she does pass, even if no will, if there is anything left in her name, you would be the beneficiary and so determined in probate court.
If going there is just not going to happen for you, then tell the apartment manager it's not your problem. They can contact your mom. Apt manager will know appropriate way to dispose of property left in an apartment when rent no longer being paid.
First if all any changes, notices etc with the landlord must be in writing, it’s the law. My sister & I live in California and she runs a property management & knows the laws. He cannot just call you and say he wants your mother out by the end of the month. He must give written notice whether it’s a 3 day notice to pay or quit because rent is behind or a notice to evict and I believe it’s now a 60 day notice to evict. He must post the notice at the residence and mail a certified copy. If I were you I would place an address change with the post office so her mail is forwarded to you. If it comes down to him cleaning out her apartment, if anything is valued at more than $250 he must store it. Remember unless you have signed paperwork you are not financially responsible for her debts. What I have learned is that the memories are in my head and although I would like to keep all of my moms things it’s just stuff. This is a very emotional and overwhelming time for you, please take care of yourself first.
May God give you strength and peace during this difficult time.
I traveled across the country to pack up the apartment of an elderly relative with dementia. One of my cousins wanted me to bring EVERYTHING back. If I'd listened to my own better judgment, I would have donated almost everything and left it there! It was hauled back in a POD and put into storage. After she passed, it was all disposed of. The only things her siblings really valued were the old family photos.
Speak to a Social Services director or some other administrative type person there at the facility where your mom is and see if they can recommend someone who handles elder relocation services such as what is needed. Is/was she a member of a church there? When I packed up my aunt's apartment, she and her husband had been longtime members of a church of which they had been very active. The church had a ministry that did the very thing you have described (packing up elderly people's homes). This group came and helped me and I could NEVER have done it without them!
Perhaps you could located a church near her apartment which has that type of ministry and have them take care of it, with a special request they save and ship to you any photos or jewelry items.
There HAS to be some type of group that goes and does that sort of thing.
Also, don't worry about the POA. I don't have one for either parent, and everything has worked out just fine. When the time came for my Dad, I had to sign the DNR myself, and not one person asked me for any legal documents.
As a side note, I just went to Los Angeles to clean out my parents home.
I had thought that I would wait until my mother passed away, but Covid presented a unique opportunity to do stuff like this on your own, and I really don't believe that my Mom will ever go back to the house. The house was about 3000 sq ft, and I ended up tossing almost everything with the exception of photos. We filled up two large dumpsters with 12 tons of stuff. In an odd way it was cathartic to do so much tossing. Every toss felt like a large weight off my shoulders.
And you are right, her belongings are just things, unless you have someone (perhaps a church member?) that you can ask to help pick up the items that have any special meaning to them (family heirlooms or such), then just let them go, they are just things. I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this in such a crazy time and from so far away.
If you pay her rent for a few months that might give you time to get there to clear out her items. Might be something you can work out with the landlord as to timing
OR
Completely separate yourself from her belongings and let the landlord do what he want with them.
Do you suspect that there are any items of value? If so...
Hire a moving company to go in pack up everything and transport it to you, or to a storage unit so you can go through the items.
https://www.agingcare.com/questions/mother-in-hospice-out-of-state-and-landlord-wants-her-belongings-gone-by-end-of-month-i-dont-have-459475.htm
This IS a tough one.
I believe the landlord is within his rights to ask the apartment be vacated. If the rent for the month has gone unpaid (has it? And for how long?) what else can they do? No altruism exists at a rental/mgmt company.
Senior living is at a premium these days. What if someone is on the waiting list for that apartment and has been waiting for a long time? It’s only fair to vacate your mom’s possessions as soon as you can so another person in need can have it. If it is unclaimed they landlord can put the items at the curb for you or whoever to go through, then have it hauled away.
Does your mother have a security deposit there? If so landlord will most likely have her forfeit that and he will use that $ to clean out the apt and throw the stuff out.
If you as her daughter can’t get there nor afford it your hands are tied. Sorry as this must be very sad for you.
Packing up items and shipping cost a lot of $. The landlord isn’t going to fund that. So if you can’t afford it, try to make one trip there now to retrieve any momentos you may want to keep and then shut the door and let it go.