Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Michigan
My daughter, age 24, recently was arested for drug and alcohol abuse and was submitted to a hospital, she was there about a week. She decided not to move back in but instead moved in with a boyfriend and took very little with her. That is fine and all but I was expecting her to get the rest of her stuff, but istead she and him decided to hobo-it-out around the US so now im stuck with her stuff while shes out doing whatever. It has been 3 months since the arest and now. how can i legally get rid of her things?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Yes - it's been a reasonable amount of time and there was no agreement for you to store or hold on to her property. For extra protection, I'd send a letter to her last known address(es) stating you will be disposing of her items within ten days. I assume it's nothing of value - just junk, clothes, garbage, or you'd be having a garage sale and not throwing it out or donating it. Regardless, unless there's an agreement to the contrary, you have no obligation to hold onto her property and, like I said, it's been 3 months - not like it's been 3 days. Courts use the "reasonable person" standard - would a reasonable person expect you to hold onto his or her property for more than 3 months in this type of situation? No, especially if you give her notice, or at least try to. You could also call her or text her - some kind of communication that gives you a paper trail or proof that you at least tried to give her notice.
Good luck with your situation. Good for you for putting your foot down and not enabling her.
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