My mother is terminally ill in the hospital and won’t be returning to her rental apartment. As her adult child can I be held responsible?
Can the landlord hold me responsible or accountable in any legal way concerning her lease, back rent or belonging if I am the only child? I am not on the lease, nor do I have a POA. I am not named as a beneficiary, nor does she have a will.
If Mom has paid rent for the month, nothing the landlord can do. He cannot enter her apartment without 24 hr notice. I suggest you call your County housing authority to see what her rights are. In hindsight, you probably shouldn't have told him she was not coming back. Then he would have had to evict her for non payment of rent.
No, you are not responsible for her debts, even as a POA.
I would tell the landlord that s/he needs to seek legal advice on how to proceed. I sent you a page from the Nolo site on guidance for landlords in this type of situation and it said NOTHING about getting a release from next of kin.
This is between your mom and the landlord. Do not send ANYTHING with your signiture.
Have you asked this question on www.bogleheads.org? Lots of lawyers and landlords there who will gladly give you good advice
Thank you for your prompt reply. The landlord is pressuring me to send a consent form to enter her apartment and remove her belongings since I do not have the means to do it myself. My mother is still lucid enough to hold a conversation and in the SNF with stage 4 cancer, but will never be returning to her apartment. Why should I be involved?
OK, that's a little bit different situation. I don't know why the landlord is asking for your consent. Maybe because you are the legal heir to her possessions? The landlord is certainly entitled to be able to rent the apartment to another tenant and evict your mother for non payment of rent. I do not know the law in this situation or whether the landlord is simply being courteous to you or requires your consent because you are the legal heir. We need someone who is a landlord or knows the laws to chime in here, but I'm fairly certain you do not have to pay any money to cover your mother's expenses. This revolves around the legalities of vacated possessions and the landlord's rights to free up an apartment for another tenant.
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No, you are not responsible for her debts, even as a POA.
This is between your mom and the landlord. Do not send ANYTHING with your signiture.
Have you asked this question on www.bogleheads.org? Lots of lawyers and landlords there who will gladly give you good advice
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