Many Florida apartment complexes include elderly residents. If a tenant dies, there are state codes and regulations that govern issues such as removal of personal items from a decedent’s apartment. Real estate disputes might arise if a relative or other person acting on behalf of a decedent believes management has disregarded such rules.
An incident recently occurred involving a former U.S. military war hero. He passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. His daughter scheduled a flight to go see him when she learned that he was likely nearing the end of his life, but her father died before she got there.
The woman was eager to visit her father’s apartment in order to collect a few personal belongings that included many of his military medals and insignia, plus personal photos and other items of the sort. She was shocked to discover that the items were removed from her father’s apartment. There is a statute in place that includes specific instructions regarding how much time must pass before removing personal items from a deceased tenant’s dwelling place when his or her rent was already paid in full.
The woman in this case says she has receipts to show that her father’s rent was paid. She also says there is an eyewitness who saw the boxes in question being removed from the apartment by workers. Apartment management denies having sent any workers into the man’s home. Real estate disputes like this one are complex and often take weeks or months to resolve. Rather than try to go it alone in a Florida court, it pays to hire an experienced real estate law attorney to act on one’s behalf; doing so may lessen the time it takes to litigate a particular issue.
