My brother is states away in a medical induced coma after suffering a heart attack and kidney failure. It's looking quite bleak.

Contact a funeral home and a probate attorney. Both will offer advice.

If he has no other family and has nothing in writing then it seems reasonable that you would be the person taking care of things. Sorry for your imminent loss. I agree that if he has not been happy since his wife's passing and he is a reasonable person, that he would be willing to let nature take it's course. Even trying to fight the inevitable decline and demise would likely be an exercise in futility. I agree with letting him go without heroic measures.

I agree with other poster about getting in touch with a funeral home. They can take care of a lot of things and will know if it's ok to let you make such arrangements, etc. I'd call one today.

Best of luck.

I'm so sorry for these circumstances. Would you be willing or have the capacity to go there before he passes so that he's not alone and you can maybe better manage his medical actions in person? I'm not trying to guilt you, just thinking about possible regrets after he passes. I wish you wisdom and clarity and peace in your heart on this journey.

I do not know if brother has anything worth protecting or putting through probate.
Do YOU know this?
Are you and little brother the only remaining family?
If you are traveling there first thing is to get a trust and estate attorney. If there IS an estate, then you will need to file to be administrator as his next of kin, and you will arrange for cremation or other service if you wish it. You will need a letter testimentary that you are managing the probate even likely to enter his home (unfortunately) as at this point you have NO IDEA whether there is a will or any instructions there for you.

This is one day at a time.
See a Trust and Estate Attorney when you arrive and go from there. If there is a home or any estate you will need to file for a tax EIN number to gather the estate in if you choose to act as administrator.

If there is NOTHING here but your brother you may not wish to do ANYTHING. Go to the postal service and see how to get your dead brother's mailings sent to your home.

I would see an attorney. This is your best way forward even if it is to ask for advice on what to do moving forward. If you are his next of kin you and brother will likely stand to inherit what he has, but that may be nothing. That is what you need to find out.

I am so very sorry. I wish you the best. I hope you'll update.

If there is no Will and he has an estate, like a house, you will need to go to Probate in his County to become an Administrator. Since you live so far away, you might want to let a lawyer do what needs to be done. Then he will charge the estate for his time. The State will determine who inherits.

If his estate is under a certain amount you may only need to sign an affidavit. This will not be probated.

Thank you so much to everyone who shared here. My brother's body shut down and he slipped away yesterday. I received a call early from the Dr. that there was nothing more they could do and that they were going to cease heroic measures and expected him to pass shortly thereafter. I called my lifelong best friend who still lives in our hometown and she made sure she was at his side, and stayed with him until he passed. She called both myself and my little brother and held the phone up to his ear so we could say goodbye to him. She is indeed a gem of a friend and has been for over 50 years.

I am taking the great advice you've all shared and am am leaving this week to make the 15 hour drive (staying at campgrounds two nights to make the driving dooable for my 69 yr old bones. I'd fly, but I'm responsible for 3 dogs, one of them being 18 yrs old, and they are going to be traveling with me. I've simply no idea how long I'll be gone and I can't leave them behind.


My brother was registered as a donor at the hospital. They took over after his death to salvage what they could for the good of others, and they've been super explaining the process and keeping me updated. Today they let me know that all that they were releasing him to the funeral home my best friend recommended.

So far, everything seems to be falling into place. Thank you all so much, for your thoughts and advice. I'm guessing his estate is valued at less then 75,000 but more than the amount allowed for no probate. Ohio law puts my little brother and myself as the only heirs so I can't just walk away...though I do wish I could. Did I happen to mention that my older brother was a lifelong hoarder? Sigh......

Both my little bro and I were discussing today on the phone on how we'd joke with our older brother that we sure hoped we'd be the ones to go first, since neither of us wanted to be left to deal with all his stuff! He's probably up there laughing at us both right now. I swear I hear him saying "Gotcha!"

Dustien:
Thank you so much for your update.
What a wonderful friend to give you that reassurance to be with him, and I hope that friend will be there for you now, as well.
I hope you will update us step by step on your continuing journey.
I thank goodness you can find at least SOME humor in this, for it is a saving grace and does honor to all involved.
We will be pulling for you. Stay in contact and wishing you the best, my thoughts will be with you.

Dustien, I am sorry for your loss. May The Lord give you strength, courage and comfort during this new season in your life.

May you have traveling mercies and safety on your drive. We are the same, we make accommodations so our 2 dogs can travel with us. I love to hear others doing the same. Your a good doggie mom.

And very best of luck dealing with the hoard.

Hi Dustien.

Does family have the funds for a cremation? If not, medical schools (unlike organ procurement centers) typically will arrange and pay for that. It takes about a year.

Dustien, my deepest condolences on the loss of your dear brother. Be safe on your travels. Wishing you peace and strength as you deal with the whole situation.

Dustine, my heartfelt condolences to you and your family. Here's hoping what else needs to be done will go smoothly.

Dustine,
Ditto - adding my condolences and wishing you a safe trip. Your best friend sounds wonderful, so glad you'll have her by your side. Hope things go smoothly and we're thinking of you.

I’m sorry for your loss and for the way it all came about. My oldest sibling is also a longtime hoarder. We’ve done the clean out twice, at his request, only to quickly see it all come back plus more. His adult children say when he dies they will rent the big roll off dumpster and empty the contents of his home and yard into it. How sad! I hope you can get this wrapped up sooner than you anticipate and wish you peace in the days ahead

I'm sorry for you loss. It's wonderful you have a really great friend to have stayed with him for you. What a comfort. The legal stuff will be guided by the funeral home, court, and lawyers when you need answers. The hoarding issue might take quite a bit of patience, but hang in there. There are agencies who will go in and get what is valuable for you and discard the rest if it gets too emotional, but for me, I would opt to do it myself, just to find some good memories and stories amongst the stuff. The dogs will certainly enjoy it. Take care of yourself.

Oh my gosh you guys...you have me crying over here. What a terrifically caring lot you all are. Good advice on the cost of funeral. We did learn that when dad passed. He learned it when my mom passed and shared the into with us, telling us to be sure to shop around when his time came. Theresa did find a "budget' minded crematorium who is doing it for just under 995.00, though I know it's going to be over 1000.00 by the time I purchased multiple death certificates. We're good with that though. Theresa to the rescue there...saved me a lot of time on the phone and/or internet! Bless Her!

And I agree completely with all you've said about how fortunate I am to have a good friend like Theresa. She's a true diamond of a friend! She will be right there by my side every step of the way. I'll be staying with her for however long it takes the courts to name me as Administrator of his estate so we can go into his house and search for the personal papers to find the things I and the courts need to proceed. I definitely want to know that the house insurance is paid up, as well as the taxes, and when they come due. I also know that I'll need to inform those who need to know that he's passed...and try to have his mail (bills and such) sent to me rather then his house... and so much more~such as taking care of the homeless woman who my brother befriended a while back and who has been crashing at his house for the last couple of months. She has no money, no drivers license (dui) and has been in and out of jail (drug related). He told me all about her, assured me that it wasn't a physical relationship, just that he felt compelled to try to help her (I think he was just lonely, too, and wanted companionship, however he could get it, poor bro).

I've talked with her, and told her that she probably would have about 6 weeks to find someplace to go, so she had some time. Setting up probate might take a couple of weeks and then she would receive a 30 day written notice to move. I also told her I'd pay 3 months rent for a local storage unit for her to put her stuff in. I feel so sorry for her, but my little brother and I discussed it and we just don't feel safe with her in that house. Theresa tells me the basement is totally hoarded and that the walls, and a good portion of the stuff, is covered with mold! I've not seen it for quite a few years, but according to Theresa, as it is, the house is simply not a safe place to be, especially for someone who may be impaired from time to time.

Well, back to cleaning out my car and getting ready for travel! This is going to be a different sort of adventure, I'm sure, for both myself and my pack...and, yes, I'll bet the dogs really enjoy this adventure...all the walking and attention they are going to get!.

I'm sure I will be doing quite a bit of serious talking to my wayward, now deceased, big brother, where ever he may be. It's already started and will probably be on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. I'll also bet you that Theresa will be right there with me with more than a few words of her own! I'm just thankful that he can't talk back, as we often couldn't get in a word edgewise when he could!

Thanks again to all of you, and I'll definitely keep you updated when I can! And especially thank you for listening to my plight. It does help to talk about it. I really did love the guy...even though he was one who's common sense always seemed to allude him more often then not. But for the most part he did try to be a good person overall. I will try to remember that in the near future when I'm having one of those "talks" with him.

I'm praying I end this journey with only good memories from the times we were able to get together as adults as well as our great early life together as a family with little brother and mom and dad! Really...RIP Big Brother!

Dustien,

Sounds like you have a good plan.

Just wanted to remind you to take things one at a time and you'll do fine.

(Also, a suggestion that you use the best possible face mask and rubber gloves when you do the de-hoarding to protect yourself from mold, dust, animal remains, etc. You don't want any of that in your lungs.)

New update... I'll talk to the Lawyer tomorrow to see if's even worth driving all that way now. Tonight I called the girl who's in my brother's house to let her know when I was coming up, and she is a totally different person. She was all over the place, not making sense half the time and accusing Theresa, or someone she sent, coming in the house when she's sleeping and stealing her stuff and throwing stuff in the trash that was hers.

She then said she has no proof that Russ is dead and that she was told that no one can tell her to leave except him. She said that she called the trash company and some of the stuff she was missing was Iwith them because it was found in the trash and that now she'd have to go get it. She also said a lot of things that just weren't making sense... evertime I tried to say something she just went off on another tangent. Finally she yelled that I sholdn't bother to come to Ohio cause she's changing the locks and no one is getting iin her house and that she was told she needs a lawyer. Then she started ranting about Russ coming home and he's just staying away because he hit her over the head with a shoe and we're all trying to get her out so we can take all her stuf! Then she hung up on me! She's turneid crazy person overnigh

I'm afraid this isn't going to go as I was really hoping it would. My brother had told me she was homeless because she got cought up in doing Meth and spent time in jail, but that she had quit and just needed some time to get on her feet. If she had quit,I'm thinking after this behavior she just might be back into it...This certainly compllicates things for sure.

Wow...the journey continues down a different track. Guess I'll need to run this by the Lawyer tomorrow and see what way we should proceed now. I had an appointment to see him when I got to Ohio, but might not need to take a trip up there now if I cna't get into the house to find if bro had a will, or any information on what bills need to be paid, when utilites are due, how to change the mail so things get done iin a timely manner..etc...etc...etc...

Oh Brother Indeed!

Thank you for another update and I'm so sorry for your loss and how it all came about.

If it were me I would stop keeping that woman in the loop. If she is back to using meth she needs treatment/rehab and you won't be able to force her to do it. There's no point in talking to an unhinged, delusional person anyway. Allowing her to stay in your brother's house beyond the 30-day eviction timeline really will only enable her and prolong her addiction, and possibly creates a liability issue for your brother's estate. If she refuses to leave the property at the eviction deadline you can have the police escort her off the property (and then change the locks immediately). If she isn't cooperative with the police then she becomes their problem.

I wish you all the best going forward and peace in your heart that you did the best you could.

Dustien, oy vey! One thing that many of us don't know about meth, until we are where you are, is that it is so dangerous because it creates life long problems even after it is stopped. What you are dealing with is a ruined brain from meth and from my personal experience, this crazy business is just the norm when dealing with a fried brain.

I would encourage you, if you want your brothers house, to do a 3 day eviction for non payment. The attorney will be able to guide you on this.

As the next of kin, you hold all the power. It is going to be unpleasant in every way imaginable dealing with a meth head, so truly, decide what your end goal is and go from there. Sometimes walking away is the sanest thing we can do.

You can do a change of address to get brothers mail. I would caution you to NOT PAY any utilities, because she will be removed if there is no running water, it is the only utility that causes the system to intervene.

Prayers that you get whatever it is you hope for in this difficult situation. Meth heads are a terrible lot to deal with, keep yourself safe above all else.

After your update, Dustien, I want only to tell you I would not touch ANYTHING here with a 10 ft pole. Taking on your brother's estate? WHAT ESTATE?
Once you become administrator you are responsible? And for what? A falling down infested home worth nothing inhabited by an addicted nut case?
Imagine it? What would it cost in eviction? How would you prevent another squatter coming in? What about the hoard? When it is out the home is likely a pile of scrap worth burning. Or knocking down. And on WHOSE DIME? He had no money. THERE IS NO ESTATE.
Let the mail pile up. Do you imagine there is something of any value whatsoever in it, to anyone?

Don't do this.
DO NOT TAKE THIS ON.
WALK AWAY FROM THIS.
As an RN I found that people almost always died as they lived and your bro, bless him, did just that. Unwise to the last. And THIS ISN'T YOUR PROBLEM. Do not make yourself responsible for this.

Your update is bringing back horrible memories for me of how my nephew and brother died. Nephew took in addicts to "help" them. They instead caused his death. My brother left a ruined house for us when he went to the ICU, then nursing home. I was thinking before it was just a hoarded house, but it's seeming much worse now. I think Alva might be correct that this mess your brother left is not for you to clean up. There's a boarded up meth house next door to me and please, please, believe me. These people are impossible. Leave it to the authorities. Do not try on your own to help the woman living in your brother's house. Ask your lawyer, but I think if the utilities are shut off she'll have to leave. I'm wondering why you think you have to pay for anything.

Dustien, regarding meth.... hopefully the tenant didn't bring meth into the household. Keeping fingers crossed. If she did, and was making it, or using it in the house, then there is a huge mountain of major issues. If you visit the house, please be very careful, as just entering a house where meth might have been used, can be harmful to your health.



Have the house tested for methamphetamine. If positive, the house needs to be decontaminated. Meth would be in the walls, the rugs, air ducts, furnace, plumbing, appliances, electrical outlets, ceiling lights, attic, basement, chimney, everything in the house. A haze-mat group would need to come in to clean out the house, and do whatever they do to make the house healthy to live in. Cleaned, and re-cleaned until it meets State acceptable levels.


Then there is the homeowner's insurance, you probably can keep the policy running that your brother had, but if you find there is meth in the house, some insurance companies may pay out for clean-up, or not. Or worse, the company would cancel the policy.


Check the State laws to see if you and your brother inherit the house, you would need to disclose that the house was a meth house when it comes time to sell. If it is not disclosed, the Buyer could have a major lawsuit against the owner(s).


Hate to throw all this at you, but better to know beforehand than after the fact.

Hey Dustien:
Any conclusions after consultation with attorney?
Again, I wouldn't take this on. You have an indigent brother who died intestate with a homeless meth addict squatter in a hoarded home.
This isn't doable.
Let the state deal with it. As to getting his mail transferred? Don't bother. Likely not a lot other than bills there. The state will claim the home eventually for taxes. Unless the addict explodes it with meth fumes first.
Good luck.
Please update us.
Thinking of you and your story to us.

The only saving grace I have at the moment is I know my brother was totally against any type of drugs, even the ones that would have probably prevented his death (Insulin...he died of complications from uncontrolled diabetes). He also can't stand to be around anyone who's smoking, and I'm sure that would include Meth. I did believe him when he said he would not have let her come back if he'd thought she was still on it. He's always been pretty naive though but I do doubt she was smoking it in the house and certainly not making it there.

Not that she won't start now.though.

Leaving tomorrow to head to Ohio...had to postpone for a day. Meeting with the lawyer on Tuesday. My neighbor had a suggestion... buy her OUT OF THE HOUSE! Have the lawyer write a contract that offers her money in exchange for vacating the house within a certain amount of time. I'll certainly be running that one by the Lawyer. If that doesn't work, I might at least be able to offer her some money to allow me to come into the house and look around to see if I can find the paperwork I need and perhaps a last will and testament that I told my brother to write up and sign. I'll know more after I talk to the Lawyer on Tuesday if it's ok to do this.

Having to leave her in the house opens a can of real can of worms as you folks tell it. I'm betting she can cook a whole bunch of meth in there before we can get her out!!! We not only have to present her with a 30 day notice to vacate...it can't even be given to her until the courts we're appointed Administrator to the Estate and that can take up to a month to 6 weeks! Hopefully we can hit her with the buyout and she needs the money bad enough that she'll go for it!

If not, I will still apply to be Administrator along with my friend Theresa as Co-Adminstrator. We will get her out, go in and review the situation, test for Meth and Mold, and if we see it's a hopeless mess, we will then file a petition with the courts seeking permission to resign due to health dangers. We now know to do this thanks to all of you and your warnings! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I don't know how I'd get through this without you'all! Hang in there with me will you!

Oh, and I won't be paying any utilities except Gas...have to keep the heat on with cold weather coming. Ohio can have freezing weather as early as November.

I just read your update. Cannot this woman be taken out by the police and the Baker Act used? Once she is out you change the locks and tell the police she can't return.

We hadva meth house not far from me. It took the Feds to arrest the man who was making it in his cellar. The house sat empty for awhile but someone is living in it now so it must have been cleaned up.

UPDATE:

Last post I was headed to My brother's house, 3 states away. Well, I've been here well over a week now, and not a lot to report. Found I couldn't be administrator of the estate since I live out of state. Entered the house once, when crazy girl seemed quite reasonable, but then she went off the deep end and we are barred from entering again. Neighbors say they see things being piled into cars quite often. I believe she's cleaning out the house of anything my brother had that could be valuable. She had nearly nothing of her own. She'd hawked it all when she'd gone on a drug bend. She eventually came back with nothing when she hit rock bottom and he let her back in.

Big mistake according to my brother, whom Theresa said had been trying to get her out of the house but she refused to leave, using that she had nothing as an excuse to stay. I know they got into a big row about it shortly before he died, because he called me to tell me how she had thrown a bottle at him and hit him on the head. Now that he's dead, she's claiming she was his girlfriend (this never was true according to him) and that he said he'd planned leave everything to her so she's not moving. When she's high, she's quite delusional.

Lawyer says we can't do much to get her out until Theresa, my lifelong friend, is appointed by the courts as administrator of my brother's estate. That proceeding as been started. Russ might have a will, though we doubt it as we've been after him forever to write something down and he never told us he did. However, we won't know for sure until we're in the house again. We looked around the one time she invited us in, but it was hard to really look with all the hoarded stuff in that house. I did offer the girl a lot of money to help her move out, and gave her a deadline, but the deadline is two days away and it looks like she's refusing my offer of a substantial amount of money, enough for a first and last month's rent somewhere. Deadline is fast approaching and it doesn't look like she's going to take it.

Now it's a waiting game. This is a real mess for sure!

We were able to stop the mail from going to the house, It will be held at the Post Office until Theresa has the correct paperwork to retrieve it as the Administrator.
As it stands, looks like Brother died intestate and nothing can be done about the squatter until Theresa as paperwork when she can then ask the courts for an eviction. They then have to set a court date to hear the complaint which Theresa and the Lawyer will attend. Once the eviction is granted, the lawyer said he will be glad to serve the 3 day notice. The whole process could take a couple of months, or more, depending on how backed up the civil court system in Akron is.

I know some have said to walk away, but Lawyer says, by looking at the tax logs, the house is worth at least 50,000 as is, and the folks across the street are interested in buying it, so that's hard to walk away from.

Not much more I can do here, so I'm heading back to Arkansas in a few days...and will remain in close touch with Theresa. Thank god for her! If there is a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of any inheritance, Theresa will get a nice slice of the pie being as Akron sets Administrator compensation at 4% of the estate total. She will have certainly earned that as well as a big tip from my brother and I for sure! Fingers cross all!

I'll keep you all updated from time to time. ;-) For now, life goes on...

God bless for taking all this on, and what an amazing friend you have! Know you’re looking forward to having it all settled

Dustien,
I have thought of you so often.
The adventure continues and I think none of us will be the slightest surprised by what you told us in your update below.
I do thank you so much for updating us.
I sure do continue to wish the best for you. I am so glad you have a friend there!