Does my girlfriend’s family owe me for my personal belongings ifI was living with them and lost everything in a house fire?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Does my girlfriend’s family owe me for my personal belongings ifI was living with them and lost everything in a house fire?
I was living with my girlfriend and her family. I had been there for over a year when the house caught fire. It burned the entire house down and was tragic. I had my own room and all my stuff was in there so I lost it all. My car was also in the garage and it blew up. So I sued on her home insurance and they paid me for the car. However shouldn’t I get money for all the contents I had in the house as well?
Asked on September 21, 2011 under Real Estate Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
If you lost items in the house fire you should make a claim under the homeowner's policy of your girlfriend's family for the loss. You will have to document what you lost with either photographs and/or an itemization of your loss with estimated fair market value.
You need to realize that your loss is based upon the depreciated value of the item lost (current fair market value) not its replacement value.
Unless a member of your girlfriend's family negligently caused the fire he or she would not be responsible for your loss. In order to see how the fire started, you should review the fire report created by the the fire department.
Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.