My dad is in a nursing home. His wife passed away a week ago. The day she was buried her children loaded everything that was in and around the house

There are several issues of concern in your statement. Sometimes another person is given the right to sign for Social Security and it is likely his wife would have been granted this ability. Retirement checks are an entirely different matter and would have required a Power of Attorney to actually take the paper check and cash it. However, in this day and age both retirement and Social Security checks are most often directly deposited into a bank account - that could have been a joint account with his spouse. There is no duty to contact any of you with regard to this matter. As far as removing the personal effects from the house, that depends on to whom they belonged. Under most state laws, his wife would have the rights to his personal property, unless there was some sort of prenuptial contract. As far as having the right to remove property from the home of someone who has died, the legal authority would fall under Alabama's property and inheritance laws. If there was a Will or a Trust, those documents would indicate heirs and beneficiaries. If there is a Will or no Will at all, a Court would have to probate to determine who has a right to the estate's assets. Still, depending on how long your father has been in the nursing home, your stepmother's children may have had house keys and been in and out, caring for her, helping with maintenance, or buying her things. Whether or not they actually do, they may believe they have a right to collect what they contributed. I know of a son who took care of his mother for 15 years with no help from siblings. He lived in the house with her and bathed, dressed, carried, cooked, cleaned, and chauffeured her. He remodeled the kitchen, bathrooms, halls and entries for wheelchair access. He paid for or did the maintenance and upkeep, paid off her car, paid all her medical and utility bills, etc. You couldn't look at the house and tell who owned what. Still, nothing was in his name, so when his mom died without a Trust or a Will the Court ordered her assets divided evenly between all 4 siblings, according to the state law. So you see, things can get very complicated, very quickly. Move carefully to preserve cordial relations. Right now her children are grieving and you are confused and surprised at the turn of events. You need an Alabama attorney experienced in both estate law and elder law to help you deal with this as a business situation and not an emotional one. I hope that, if this answer doesn't exactly shed light, it does give you some direction into the complexity of your situation, so that you get the skilled assistance you need. To your success,Gale Allison, Principal AttorneyThe Allison Firm, PLLChttp://www.theallisonfirm.comhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/GaleAllison