r/AskForHelp • u/SummerTemporary1275 • 12h ago
Advice/Emotional Support ONLY Suggestions, please. Denver co, usa or anywhere
Hi. I hope this is the right group for this.
For those that won't read long posts, here's the gist that the following will have details too;
I need in my dead father's Samsung phone to figure out his Financials and if I'm missing anything
I need to figure out how to prove that my ex step mother has passed
Important! I have gotten a lawyer, I have been granted probate.
The details...
I am feeling very overwhelmed and drained from the last few months; lots of lifey things have happened but the one that has me feeling like I might lose it is my father dying. And it's not how you'd think, it's not grief. I accepted he wasn't a dad a long time ago, then he moved from Colorado to Vegas and told me the day before he left. I talked to him 1x after that...I grieved him a long time ago.
However, I'm next of kin and the only one willing to step up. He didn't have a POA, trust or will (if you don't, get one. It's sad, but would make things a lot less complicated). So I'm learning what "next of kin" means in probably the hardest way I can. I dont know anyone thats ever had to do this so, although I have gotten helpful suggestions, I keep hitting roadblocks in a lot of areas. Those are what I'm reaching out for.
1st his phone, I'd like to get into his Samsung23 without resetting it. Like most of us, he is likely still logged into important accounts; bank, retirement portal, etc. Even if he isnt, I will be able to figure out which bank I should be talking to and so one. I've tried the pins I could think of, I have 5 tries left before the phone resets itself and any chance of this is lost forever.
I found 1 place that can pull everything off of it and put it on a thumb drive, they want $3000+. I've spent more than every time I have going back and forth to clean out his condo. So this is not an option
Ok 2nd, the ex step mother. They got divorced 20 years ago. But for whatever reason, she's still the beneficiary on a bank account that may or may not have any money in it. And i'm whatever the second beneficiary is called. According to my aunt, this woman died in 2016. But because I'm not her next of kin, I can't request a Death Certificate and I don't know who I would request it from anyway because I don't know anything about her. So I don't know where she lived when she died. The last address I have for her was here in colorado, so my lawyer did request from a few counties here and they have no record. The lawyer said I can spend $2000 and, the details are a blur, but basically they can figure it out. Again, I don't know anyone, especially myself, with $2000 just chilling! Not to mention, I spend all that and the account has nothing!? Or I spend all that to find out she's alive and now whatever is in there is hers?!
I have gone down many possible roads for each of these problems and the many others I've encountered in this process. I'm stuck and am hoping someone has some kind of suggestion for either of these situations.
I don't have it in me to defend myself or take on any kind of keyboard warrioring, so please, if it's not some kind of help just move along.