Lonely Death of George Bell

NYT ran this piece several years ago. It basically outlines what happens when someone dies alone in this state without next of kin or heirs, so court system becomes involved.

Am posting for one reason because it will shed some light on process that will pay out if Andre Leon Talley did not make a will, and or heirs to his estate cannot be located.

By N. R. Kleinfield Oct. 17, 2015

Story is not paywalled, so if you have issues opening link but want to read article, just Google or other internet search. They found him in the living room, crumpled up on the mottled carpet. The police did. Sniffing a fetid odor, a neighbor had called 911. The apartment was in north-central Queens, in an unassertive building on 79th Street in Jackson Heights.

The apartment belonged to a George Bell. He lived alone. Thus the presumption was that the corpse also belonged to George Bell. It was a plausible supposition, but it remained just that, for the puffy body on the floor was decomposed and unrecognizable. Clearly the man had not died on July 12, the Saturday last year when he was discovered, nor the day before nor the day before that. He had lain there for a while, nothing to announce his departure to the world, while the hyperkinetic city around him hurried on with its business.

Neighbors had last seen him six days earlier, a Sunday. On Thursday, there was a break in his routine. The car he always kept out front and moved from one side of the street to the other to obey parking rules sat on the wrong side. A ticket was wedged beneath the wiper. The woman next door called Mr. Bell. His phone rang and rang.

This is me, no children, no nieces or nephews, no money.

R1

You could always pre pay for your final expenses, then leave a will giving exact instructions.

Although we know from a film about Los Angeles, CA and how they deal with similar situation above offers no guarantee. Mr. Tanner (see 36:04 in linked clip) left a will, prepaid for final expenses including plot, only to have cemetery screw things up.

It really is important for everyone to have a will, even if you think your "stuff" isn't worth much. Without one your estate will go through local surrogate or whatever court with a public administrator making all decisions. This likely will include what happens to your remains, a pet, and of course your belongings.

All this isn't done for free either, court takes a cut from any assets sold or otherwise recovered to pay for their work.

For those who believe they cannot access NYT story, try downloading article from link.

Jesus that doc is depressing