My father lived in an independent senior apartment in a senior community. His rent is paid for the whole month, he passed on the 7th. I don't have a power of attorney. How many days do I have to remove all his belongings from his lil apartment?
I would check with the apartment management but your father paid his rent up to and including October 31st so I assume you have until that day. I would hope, under the circumstances, management would allow you access to his apartment, as it is in their best interest to cooperate with family members to remove a deceased tenant's belongings in a timely manner. My deepest condolences on the loss of your Dad.
You should ideally have until the end of the month. Talk the the manager, or call the local social services department and see if they can give you any advice. It's likely the manager will want the belongings out before the end of the month so they can do repairs/maintenance, so I doubt it will be an issue. That way they can have a quick turnaround on the apartment as there's usually a waiting list for senior communities.
I agree - you should have until the end of the month to remove your Father's things since you are paid until then. However, if they ask you to move sooner, you would be entitled to a prorated refund of the rent. Also, don't forget about getting your Father's apartment deposit back, if there was one.
Tita - you don't give much information here, but since you mentioned that you don't have power of attorney, it makes me wonder why you think that's an issue. Are you your father's only child or are there other siblings who have disagreement with what you're wanting to do in clearing out your dads things? OR, is the independent living facility giving you difficulty because you don't have power of attorney? Were you a joint owner on your fathers thank accounts; did you help him with his financial affairs or help pay his rent? Are you listed as his emergency reference on the application papers to the facility? Did your father have a will? Are you the executor and beneficiary. That ought to be enough to show the facility so they would give you access to accomplish this task. Theoretically, unless your dad also paid "last months rent", in which case the apartment may technically be rented through November unless you make other arrangements with the facility for a refund if you move out at the end of October. As Fault reminds, there may be other deposit monies to consider. If for some reason your father's estate must be probated (sounds unlikely), that's a long process that most apartment owners or facility managers don't want to wait out, but they also want to make sure that they aren't granting illegal access, which may leave them legally liable for granting unauthorized access.
I hope you will post additional details so that you can get a better answer to your question.
Please check the agreement he signed when he went into the facility. Both my father-in-law (death while in independent living apt in IL in 1996) and mother (moved from independent living apt to another facility in TX two weeks ago) were required to give two full months notice. This applied even upon death! The first thing my sister was told when she advised the independent living place in TX that my mother was moving was that two full months rent were required (from beginning of month). Fortunately, Mom / sister were able to give notice towards the end of September, so the charges will only be for October & November. My sister will remove Mom's possessions in October. As Dad had bought into the place where he lived, the contract also provided that the facility did not need to return 90% of his deposit for 180 days. The facility did eventually return it, per the contract. So the moral of this is: Read the Contract!
Since the rent is paid until the end of the month, remove his belongings when you feel strong up until the end of the month, unless management gives you a prorated refund and then do it asap. I am sorry for your loss.
Renting an Independent Living apartment is pretty much the same as renting a regular apartment anywhere. You can keep your belongings in it for as long as you're paying the rent. If your father was living in a CCRC and his unit will have to be sold, you should thoroughly read the agreement he signed with the community and then whomever is the executor for his estate should meet with someone at the community to talk about how to proceed with the sale and when you must move everything out of his apartment. Typically, a monthly maintenance fee must be paid on an apartment until it is sold. So, you should do whatever's in your best interest in getting the unit re-sold.
It doesn't matter that you don't have power of attorney because POA ends at death. If you are having trouble getting access, you or someone else may need to be appointed executor of your dad's estate. You may need to consult a lawyer, particularly if there is not a will. If access is not the issue, just work with management to move things out in a timely manner and collect any deposit refunds, etc. I have worked with three different "senior living" facilities (one of them twice) for my relatives, and they have all been very cooperative. They deal with this situation on a regular basis and they should have a copy of any contract that your dad signed.
I hope you will post additional details so that you can get a better answer to your question.
If your father was living in a CCRC and his unit will have to be sold, you should thoroughly read the agreement he signed with the community and then whomever is the executor for his estate should meet with someone at the community to talk about how to proceed with the sale and when you must move everything out of his apartment. Typically, a monthly maintenance fee must be paid on an apartment until it is sold. So, you should do whatever's in your best interest in getting the unit re-sold.