This lengthy article tells the tragic story of George Bell, a man who died alone in his New York City apartment. Each year about 50,000 people die in New York City, and a certain number of them often die alone with no friends and family available to check up on them. George Bell’s body was discovered in his apartment after a neighbor had called 911 because of smell. This article goes into detail describing what happened after his body was discovered. It goes into detail describing the probate process and the work that public administrators and other officials have to do. There is a lot that goes into contacting potential heirs and deciding how to distribute the assets of a person with no ascertainable friends or relatives. This is a very interesting story about the type of situations public administrators often have to deal with during the probate process.
See N.R. Kleinfield, The Lonely Death of George Bell, The New York Times, October 17, 2015.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
