This is pure genius!
I bow to your geniusness!
You lost me on this line. Was this relative’s dead body discovered by the cops? or do you think cops in general would do something like this. I’m not looking to start a flamewar. Just curious. Maybe I’m naive.
We have two experiences in my family with the police finding a dead relative before anyone else. My own father, and another kookie reclusive uncle on the other side of the family. Both times they stole from the corpse or the home.
My father was a type who never EVER had less than $500 cash in his wallet. He dealt in cash and only had one credit card from Sears. When the local cops returned his wallet to us, there was $20 bucks in it. I can’t prove anything, but I’m 100% certain someone on the scene emptied his wallet. These were Harvey, IL cops.
My uncle died in Chicago. He was a gun collector – my cousin found more than 100 gun permits in his house. The neighbors told us the cops filled the trunks of several squad cars – one neighbor said nine cars – with weapons and hauled them away. These were collectible military guns, like BARs, Thompsons, and lots of rifles. The police report later said they removed 9 guns from the house for safety reason. My cousin never pursued this because she didn’t care about the guns, and especially didn’t want to accuse the cops of stealing,
So in my personal experience, cops stole two out of two times.
BoyoJim, sounds like you’re in tricky spot, but I’ve heard of worse. We need a new acronym; IYS (in your shoes) or something. So, IYS:
You have little if any obligation to this project. The guy was a stranger, let the proper authorities do what they want. Go through the place, you don’t have to be thorough, and grab whatever looks interesting and/or of value. Share this with interested relatives,
And forget about it.
Some years ago, I was obliged to supervise cleaning out a duplex. Holy motherfuck. Where did all this junk come from?! You could just barely make your way through it all, no exaggeration whatsoever. It was kinda fun, though, hucking huge amounts of debris out a second story window into the giant towable dumpster below. 
If there were any secret caches of diamonds in there, guess I missed out.
Forgot to mention in last post – his neighbors thought something was wrong when they didn’t see or hear him, so they called the cops, who found the body. The only reason my cousin found out is that the neighbors also notified the landlord, who had my cousin’s name and number as an emergency contact.
So cops were in there first.
I’m actually kinda looking forward to it as an interesting adventure. I just don’t want it to be too costly.
Gotcha.
AT least he didn’t go undetected for years and years.
Keep us updated on everything. I"m sure it won’t be as exciting as we all hope (Honus Waggoner Baseball Card/a sheet of Inverted Jennies/Mickey Mantle Rookie Card/DB Cooper’s Stash…), but at least we get to live vicarously through you.
Good. Let her.
The minute she turns her head for a second, you start running. Keep running until you think you’re safely away, then run some more.
My wife has been the executrix of her parents’ estate for the past 6 years. Everyone thinks “Oh, this one won’t be that bad”, but it isn’t worth taking the chance. I can’t begin to explain to you how terrible it has been. I wouldn’t get involved if there was less than $100k, and maybe not even then.
Nah, I can’t do that to her. I DO feel a family connection to her, and she has helped me out in some tough times. So if she steps up, I have to help her.
And we had breakfast this morning, and she is still pissed over the VERY IDEA that I could suggest such a cold cold thing. So I think one way or another I’m going to pulled into this more than I want to be.
Of course if we find 10 million dollars, he is going to be my new favorite uncle. 
I’ve always thought that DNA was a very bad reason to feel a sense of obligation toward someone who couldn’t be bothered to develop a relationship with his family (your Uncle). I love my parents and brother to death, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to lend a hand in every single one of their endeavors.
Obviously, you know what is best for you and your family. I hope you don’t think I’m trying to tell you how to handle your sister. Just that I’ve seen some really, really bad things happen when people get involved in an estate.
sounds like a neat adventure/treasure hunt !!!
I have no experience, but maybe it would be a good idea to keep a video camera recording your entire visit, and whatever jewels/money/dead bodies you uncover?
And , now that you’ve started this thread, you have to keep us updated as the story unfolds…
Unc left more than 8 grand in cash in a closet, and a savings account with a balance of more than 165,000. The last recorded transaction in the passbook is more than a year ago though, so we’re a little iffy on the current balance. And no sign of a checking account. He was receiving 2 pension checks regularly, but we have no idea where he was depositing them. So there are probably some other accounts we don’t know about.
Also a fairly large box full of cuff links and tie clips. Some looked like they would be quite valuable if the stones in them are real. And a grimy watch that says Rolex – and by grimy I mean disgusting. It’s like he cooked 30 years worth of bacon wearing the watch – just totally greasy and gritty.
And we went though every single piece of paper in his home – it’s a very small home, and relatively few papers. No basement storage – we checked. Also looked in his glove compartment and trunk of his car.
So I guess we’re going to give the old guy a decent funeral after all.
Way to go, BoyoJim! Seems I made the wrong call there. Enjoy your treasure hunt, and be sure to gloat at us about all the cool stuff you find!
Sounds like there were some prizes to be found after all! Enjoy your bounty.
He also left a big pile of Viagra pills and a bag of asian-chick video porn.
Otherwise he left a remarkably empty and impersonal home. Not a single book. Not a single video, other than the porn. Hardly any written correspondence, and most of that dealing with a lawsuit. Yes, someone was in the midst of suing him for some kind of personal injury. His lawyers were telling him that the jusgement might exceed his insurance coverage, and he might have to pay the difference out of pocket.
Which is certainly going to slow, and probably reduce or eliminate, any eventual payout.
Hermits need love, too.
Did you check the loft? He may well also have a safety deposit box at a local bank.
Well you may just try asking local banks, armed with death certificate and SS number.
Or go to post office, open a PO box, and then fill out a change of address for uncle to the box. (so you don’t get his junk mail in the future)
Bank statements and such should come there.
That sounds like a great idea, but I wonder if it’s legal.
I think it is if you have a death certificate. The home we purchased last fall was from a woman who had died, and her brother-in-law was able to get her mail forwarded to him in another province.