Probably nothing. If you are that concerned, perhaps it is now time to re-establish contact with those relatives and start to give some of it away. Doing this has a number of benefits, including renewing relationships, and making it easier on the executor of your estate to dispose of those items properly. Nobody can easily fight over what has already been distributed.

Absolutely NOTHING except the honesty of the landlord. It's never happened to me (and I hope it doesn't EVER happen) but I would promptly make an inventory by photo or video tape immediately afterward as a record of what was there, in case the heirs accused me of taking the family heirlooms that were never there.

If you are concerned, the first reply had some excellent advice.

All I can say is...this post was extremely depressing and it made me very sad! I wish I could give you a big hug right now; you poor thing.

Call your family! :) You might feel better, in many ways.

Logged on just to ask, "What's the latest, Nctrnl? I have been thinking about your question and hoping the best for you. Update, please. :P

Nothing to report really *shrugs*

Get a digital camera or get one of those tossable ones. Take a photo of all the property in your apartment and if you have a friend which can witness this, the better. Write a detailed description of the things you are most worried about, and contact your local Legal Aid to see what they advise as far as the rest goes. If you are exceptionally concerned you can do this once a year or every other year to keep the information up to date. If money is not an object, get a camcorder and video tape everything. Be sure and log details such as serial numbers...

Do you ever speak to the landlord? You could casually mention that you are feeling down because you just spent a lot of time making a list of all your possessions and writing up a will so your family would know who gets what. Just thinking that it is all documented (so someone would be looking for it) might be enough to disuade someone with sticky fingers.

Speaking as a Landlord, this is a business to us. Stealing from a tenant, dead or otherwise, is like cheating on your taxes. Just not good business practice. If we want to succeed in this business, good word of mouth is everything. Most landlords would never stoop to such levels, if for no other reason than not to risk future rentals. But there are always those few... Documenting your belongings then putting the pictures, videos or what ever in a safe deposit box is what I would do if I were in this situation of dealing with a landlord that I did not trust. And as stated in the previous message, talk to your landlord. This may solve your problems in more ways than one. Have you thought of moving somewhere else with a landlord that you can trust? Good luck to you, my thoughts are with you.