Tenant committed suicide, ex-wife now squatting without paying. Eviction posted; but how does his death affect security deposit?

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Anonymous Jul 9, 2015 Landlord Tenant Law 2 views 1 answers

The tenant's minor-aged child is the apparent sole survivor and still resides in the home with his mother (the ex-wife.) No information about probate known. If the child is residing in the home can I keep the security deposit after eviction toward rent-due? Or do I have to appeal through probate and make a claim against the estate? Lease ran out the month after tenant took his life. His ex-wife is NOT on the lease and claims to have moved in several months ago.

Attorney Answer

James Frederick

James Frederick · Jun 15, 2026

I believe that the correct procedure would be to file a claim against the probate estate. If there IS no probate estate, then as a creditor, you can petition to have one opened. The downside in that is that you would need to pay $150 to open the estate. Another possible issue is that there may be insufficient assets in the estate to justify opening the estate and there may be offsets to your claims. You need to tread very carefully, here, because if you violate the Security Deposit law, you could be found liable for double damages. James Frederick

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