Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey
Missing Property
My father passed away recently. My mother and I discovered several of his possessions were missing when we went to collect his belongings. The landlord and his sister, who weremy father's uncle and aunt, were the only people who had keys to my father's apartment. The aunt admitted to taking a few of his possessions after he died. I don't have the receipts to everything but I have the empty boxes. I didn't live at the apartment but can I sue the landlord for my father's missing property?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Missing Property
You can certainly sue. Your problem will be proofs and valuation. Even if you pass the first hurdle of proving that items were taken, you will then need to prove their value in order to obtain a judgment. Then you will need to collect on your judgment. You need to think seriously about the value of the items and the difficulty you will have in obtaining a judgment and collection before you do anything. Keep in mind that this advice is based purely on the little bit of information that you have given to me. There certainly may be other factors that would change my opinion. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. Since it appears that you have not retained an attorney, you may want to contact an attorney (either me or someone else) to discuss your matter in more detail. Only then will you be able to rely on the advice. Feel free to call me for an appointment at 856-546-8010. Mention LawGuru and your first one hour consultation is free. Good luck! Rob Gleaner
Re: Missing Property
Did your father leave a Will? If so, who was named Executor. If not, and you do not say if your parents are still married or divorced, someone should be appointed as Administrator. If your parents were not married, you are entitled to be appointed, if they were married your mother is entitled. In any event, once someone is appointed, they have the right to represent the estate and take possession of all assets which comprise the estate. If assets were removed from his aprtment, the estate representative has the right to sue to recover possession for the estate. It sounds like you might have an intra-family battle, and you might need an attorney to assist you. I really need more information to give you better advice.
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