WoodsFinder t1_j6nvz8e wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:41 PM

It's always sad when someone is estranged from family like that. My condolences to you.

You could check the laws in the place where he last lived. Maybe you could get a court to appoint you as personal representative for his estate.

However, if it has been 2 months and his roommate knew he had no contact with family, my guess is that whatever belongings he had have probably already been given away or thrown away since the roommate probably needed to find a new roommate quickly and would have needed to clear out your brother's stuff.

I'd probably start by contacting the roommate to see whether there is any reason for you to do anything more.

turtleneck360 OP t1_j6nwqbj wrote on January 31, 2023 at 5:45 PM

Yeah the roommate likely took anything of value or tossed it out. I would contact the roommate but I don't know how. I don't know who he is or where he lived before his passing. My brother was a hoarder and a long time ago, was known to have kept a storage locker. So that is something else that I don't know how to go about checking.

Jake_NoMistake t1_j6o0i7a wrote on January 31, 2023 at 6:08 PM

If the town isn't that big, you could do it the old fashioned way and just cold call all of the storage unit places in the area to ask if they have a customer with his name. If they do, you could most likely explain the situation to them and let them know you'll pay the back pay if they will hold the unit while you become executor of the estate at the county courthouse.

turtleneck360 OP t1_j6o2udx wrote on January 31, 2023 at 6:23 PM

Unfortunately, I don't live in a small town. It'll be impossible to cold call all of the storages. The problem is compounded by him having lived in two adjacent cities, both fairly large.