My landlord passed away and his estranged ex girlfriend is telling me to write her a personal check.
I recently found out my landlord passed away. I was never contacted by anyone, I found out about his death by calling the police station. I found information about his death online and called the funeral home to get the next to kins information. They gave me the name of his brother. I spoke with his brother briefly and he told me to talk to his ex girlfriend. I spoke with the ex girlfriend and she told me to write her a personal check so she could pay the mortgage, because "she could not touch any of his money yet, and she did not have enough money to pay it on her own". I do not feel comfortable paying this woman rent. I have never met her and I dont know if she legally has rights to his estate.
When I first moved in to this house, my lanlord opened an account that would hold my security deposit and my first months rent. My lease states that I pay that account every month. So since his death I have continued to pay that account, even though no one is able to access that money.
How do I find out who has legal rights to this house and who we should pay rent to?
Editor's Response
Do not pay the ex-girlfriend. I would ask the brother who the executor of the estate is and, once you are given some proof that the person really is the executor, send the checks to that person, clearly marked as rent with the address of the property. If you cannot find out who the executor is, you might hold the rent in an account until you are contacted by the new owner or the true executor. It is possible the building was held by joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In that case, someone still owns the building. If not, the new owner must be determined by the Probate Court. Whatever you do, don't just stop paying the rent and spend the money on something else. At some point, you will have to pay it. If the girlfriend becomes a problem, you might want to find a lawyer who does landlord/tenant law and ask him to draft a letter to her. Good luck.