The State of California will be responsible for deciding who inherits Aaron Carter’s estate, as the late singer did not have a will established at the time of his death, TMZ reports.
Carter, who was found dead at his home last weekend, has a young child with his fiancée Melanie. The L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services recently removed Carter’s 11-month-old Prince from the couple’s home, and the boy has been living with Melanie’s mother since September.
Despite not having a will in place, Carter’s son could still inherit his father’s estate, as California law states that a child is first in line to inherit a parent’s estate if the parent passes away without a will.
However, it’s worth noting that Carter wasn’t financially stable at the time of his death. One source close to Aaron told TMZ he was “living hand-to-mouth and would typically spend what he earned in short order.”
Carter passed away last Saturday inside his Lancaster, California home. Law enforcement responded to a call around 11 a.m. that a male had drowned in the bathtub. No foul play is suspected, and an official cause of death is unknown.
Back in September, police were summoned to Carter’s home to do a welfare check after it appeared the singer was doing drugs during an Instagram Live session. Police told TMZ at the time that they had received a call about Carter “possibly overdosing on social media.”
Carter’s older brother Nick took to social media to share a heartbreaking tribute to his younger brother.
“My heart has been broken today,” Carter captioned a series of photos on Instagram. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.”
The post continued, “Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz., now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth….God, please take care of my baby brother.”
