Sibling death , no will
Hi Terry,
My family member passed from cancer April 2026. He had a condo that is now in foreclosure, I do believe he had some investments, but my younger sibling and I have no idea of what to do. As were also dealing with our last parents death 12/2025 she had a will and left every thing to my not sane older sibling. Whom we cant find. And house is been condemned due to she was in hospitals and nursing rehab house. And then im also dealing with the death of my youngest son due to car accident on 11/09/25. I dont have a clue on any of these things. He had car insurance but that was about it,he lived with me and my spouse. Please help
Terry Says
OMG — if I believed in “bad luck” you surely got more than your share.
Let me try to take those one-by-one, while I think of how you could get some help overall.
Let’s start with your mother’s death. She left “everything” to your sister who cannot be found? That is the job of the court. And “everything” might not be a lot, if the house she lived in is condemned, and she probably owes the state for some of her care. If you are not named as executor of this will, you can simply walk away — from the hassle, and the fact that there are likely to be no assets. If you ARE named as executor of this will, you must report to the court that you cannot find the only heir, and that you are resigning as executor. You are not tied to this mess forever!
Similar situation with your “family member” who passed away. Is there any way you can search his records, perhaps contact his employer to see if he had a retirement account? You might also contact the condo association to see if he listed any assets when he purchased the apartment. Or the bank that is foreclosing on the condo might have a list of his assets from when he obtained the mortgage. Of course, this would only be worth the time and energy if you were sure that you are the only beneficiaries of this family member. Obviously you’re not a parent, so if he/she had children (or living parents) this is their job to do if they want to get anything out of the estate. They would be the primary beneficiaries if he died without a will.
As far as your son, my sincere condolences. I can’ think of anything more horrible than losing a child. On the financial side, if he was employed please check with his employer to see if he had a retirement account, or if the company provided some sort of death/burial benefit along with his health insurance.
I would refer you to an attorney, but I don’t think there is any role for an attorney in these situations, give that there are no assets likely to be found, or of which you are the beneficiary. Sometimes, the ability to just walk away is more valuable than anything to be found.
I’m praying that this run of horrible things is over now. And that you can let go of the things you simply can’t change and move forward to better times.
