Belongings Being Held Hostage

[joseph17]

About 2 1/2 years ago my mother died, and my brother changed the locks on her house (now his..he lived there). I had left the house about 18 years prior, but a section of my old room as well as stored items in the attic still contained my personal belongings...books, toys, scientific apparatus, pictures, etc. Over the years visiting, I would periodically go there and either look at or remove some items, and never thought they would be in jeopardy of being locked up.

Since my brother will not let me in, I've been told I can file a lawsuit to get my stuff. Counseling was a failure. How involved is this process and what is to stop him from trashing everything before I am able to get an order to get my stuff?

Thanks!

Joe/NJ

 

[dorenephilpot]

You can try small-claims court, but he has a pretty good argument that you have abandoned the items if you have been gone from home that long and haven't bothered to take your things with you.

 

[joseph17]

thank you Dorene for your reply...I wish I was smart enough over these years to have gotten my stuff out of there before things turned nasty, but who can predict the future?!

 

[dorenephilpot]

Smart and trusting are two very different qualities.

In my opinion, you were trusting, not a dummy.

Best of luck to you.