What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My 31-year-old, never-married daughter, with no children committed suicide in July. Her father is also deceased. In addition, she has no siblings. She left no Will or "suicide note". At the time of her death, all of her property (valued at a mere $2500.00) was stored in a self-storage facility. The manager of the facility was notified, by a non-family member/roommate, that my daughter had died and stated that she needed to gain access to the storage unit. The manager insisted, via telephone, that the roommate NOT bring a Death Certificate to the facility or she could not allow access to the roommate. There was an approximate $300 balance due on the account. The manager had previously placed a "red lock" on the unit because of the past-due balance. This all occurred without my knowledge and happened a few days after the funeral. I had not had ample opportunity to begin to deal with this situation. The manager told the roommate she needed to collect the money due on the account. The roommate did not have the funds to pay the balance so she brought 2 other non-family members (persons #2 and #3) with her to the facility. The manager accepted payment from person #3, with full knowledge that my daughter was dead, then advised her employee to remove the "red lock". The roommate had retrieved the key to my daughter's lock from my daughter's purse. The 3 non-family members went to the unit with the employee. The unit was then fully unlocked. The roommate retrieved the one item that my daughter's grandmother had asked her for. Persons #2 and #3 then threatened the roommate with bodily harm if she did not leave the premises. Persons #2 and #3 then stole all of my daughter's property with the assistance of a U-Haul truck. It is important to note that the store manager, who allowed the theft to take place, knows me personally as a customer and knew the decedant was my daughter. The store manager has my contact information. My question is, was it illegal, once the store manager was notified that my daughter had died, to accept payment on and allow access to these people who stole my all of my daughter's property? I filed an insurance claim in hopes of some restitution. They denied my claim because "the unit was not broken in to". What should I do? What are my rights? Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
My 31-year-old, never-married daughter, with no children committed suicide in July. Her father is also deceased. In addition, she has no siblings. She left no Will or "suicide note". At the time of her death, all of her property (valued at a mere $2500.00) was stored in a self-storage facility. The manager of the facility was notified, by a non-family member/roommate, that my daughter had died and stated that she needed to gain access to the storage unit. The manager insisted, via telephone, that the roommate NOT bring a Death Certificate to the facility or she could not allow access to the roommate. There was an approximate $300 balance due on the account. The manager had previously placed a "red lock" on the unit because of the past-due balance. This all occurred without my knowledge and happened a few days after the funeral. I had not had ample opportunity to begin to deal with this situation. The manager told the roommate she needed to collect the money due on the account. The roommate did not have the funds to pay the balance so she brought 2 other non-family members (persons #2 and #3) with her to the facility. The manager accepted payment from person #3, with full knowledge that my daughter was dead, then advised her employee to remove the "red lock". The roommate had retrieved the key to my daughter's lock from my daughter's purse. The 3 non-family members went to the unit with the employee. The unit was then fully unlocked. The roommate retrieved the one item that my daughter's grandmother had asked her for. Persons #2 and #3 then threatened the roommate with bodily harm if she did not leave the premises. Persons #2 and #3 then stole all of my daughter's property with the assistance of a U-Haul truck. It is important to note that the store manager, who allowed the theft to take place, knows me personally as a customer and knew the decedant was my daughter. The store manager has my contact information. My question is, was it illegal, once the store manager was notified that my daughter had died, to accept payment on and allow access to these people who stole my all of my daughter's property? I filed an insurance claim in hopes of some restitution. They denied my claim because "the unit was not broken in to". What should I do? What are my rights? Thank you.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?