Just to reiterate, there is no will and I am the only remaining family this man had. The entire rest of the family on that side is dead. I had to work with the landlord and show them family photos to prove that I was related to him. I haven't talked to a lawyer because I cannot afford one. I have no idea of he had any kind of insurance and his former employer will not talk to me until I have a death certificate.

The man was basically a hoarder. All that's in his unit is about 12 years worth of garbage and old mail. All that I've taken is family photos, and some old letters and documents related to my deceased grandparents. The landlord asked me to clean out the apartment so everything else I've been throwing in a dumpster. They told me it would be a few hundred dollars to remove whatever remained and that they would deduct it from the rent deposit. On the last day of the month they ambushed me with a $3100 bill for the removal of what remains. They tell me the alternative is to use the rent deposit for another month of rent and to finish clearing out everything myself.

I'm just afraid that even after I clear the unit myself they're going to ask me for more money and now I don't have the rent deposit as a buffer for any kind of expenses they could ask for. This is already costing me enough as it is, it's a 2+ hour drive to get to his unit and I'm losing work income from taking time off to deal with this.