- Jurisdiction
- Georgia
Is there a way for my sisters and I to retrieve my late father's personal items from his widow's house, now that she has been moved to a memory care facility? Can a sheriff gain entry for my sisters and myself? We don't have house keys or the alarm code. Dad left the items to us in his will, and we have letters testamentary. Can we do this without involving her horrible brother, who lives in another state? I do not believe he filed for legal guardianship over her; I feel he has less claim to make decisions for about certain things than we do, especially when they impact us.
He had very little to do with her; she spent all holidays with us, even after Dad passed, and we were in regular contact, even though we do not live nearby. Since my father died 3 years ago, she has had a professional caregiving service at her home, which we helped select. For the past two weeks, she had not answered her phone, and since we planned to travel to take her out for her birthday, we contacted the manager of the caregivers to find out why.
We learned that her brother put her in a facility a couple of weeks ago (the anniversary of my father's death). When we called him, he was brusque and said the place says she needs to get used to her surroundings — therefore, no calls, no visits, no cards, no flowers. On her birthday! We knew this was a lie, so we visited briefly anyway, and she was appreciative.
We've since learned that he killed the family dogs when he had her taken from from her house. We had always planned to adopt them when this time eventually came. But he killed them instead of notifying us.
Suffice to say, we now hate her brother. We did not previously ask Dad's widow for Dad's things because it would have been cruel; she had early stage dementia and would not have understood. We knew she would eventually move to a facility, so we decided to wait until then. We assumed that when the time came, we would work with her brother. Now we don't want even want to speak to him. Also, he would have to drive several hours to give us the keys, and I am not sure he would do it.
So, can we take the will and letters testamentary to the county sheriff? Or will it be a lot more complicated than that? Again, I do not believe he has legal guardianship of her. And considering that she has been part of our family for the past 22 years, far more actively and beloved than by her brother, I don't see why he is able to make these decisions without us.
He had very little to do with her; she spent all holidays with us, even after Dad passed, and we were in regular contact, even though we do not live nearby. Since my father died 3 years ago, she has had a professional caregiving service at her home, which we helped select. For the past two weeks, she had not answered her phone, and since we planned to travel to take her out for her birthday, we contacted the manager of the caregivers to find out why.
We learned that her brother put her in a facility a couple of weeks ago (the anniversary of my father's death). When we called him, he was brusque and said the place says she needs to get used to her surroundings — therefore, no calls, no visits, no cards, no flowers. On her birthday! We knew this was a lie, so we visited briefly anyway, and she was appreciative.
We've since learned that he killed the family dogs when he had her taken from from her house. We had always planned to adopt them when this time eventually came. But he killed them instead of notifying us.
Suffice to say, we now hate her brother. We did not previously ask Dad's widow for Dad's things because it would have been cruel; she had early stage dementia and would not have understood. We knew she would eventually move to a facility, so we decided to wait until then. We assumed that when the time came, we would work with her brother. Now we don't want even want to speak to him. Also, he would have to drive several hours to give us the keys, and I am not sure he would do it.
So, can we take the will and letters testamentary to the county sheriff? Or will it be a lot more complicated than that? Again, I do not believe he has legal guardianship of her. And considering that she has been part of our family for the past 22 years, far more actively and beloved than by her brother, I don't see why he is able to make these decisions without us.