My brother died in April of last year. He was an Honorably Discharged Combat Veteran. My father claimed my brother was not worth anything and had plans to leave all of his belongings to be gathered by the landlord and disposed of. Additionally, my father gave my brother a 5-minute and 46-second funeral, which consisted of a man standing up front and praying for 2 minutes and 9 seconds of it. My dad only invited his side of the family and said he did not want my recently deceased mother's family there. Nathan earned and deserved a military funeral. My dad had the barber hand him a square folded flag, which, as most people know the flag folding is a special part of the ceremony, and the flag should be folded into a triangle and presented to the family member. The American Legion claimed they did not know how to properly fold a flag. My other brother and I also served in the military. We knew how to fold the flag. I had said this to my father, who said he did not want us involved. My dad sat all of us surviving siblings (4 of us) in the back, not upfront with immediate family.

Meanwhile, he allowed a girl and his family, who claimed to be Nathan's fiance, to sit with him up front. This girl had recently had charges brought against her for car theft by my brother, and she was found with fetynal and shrooms at a quantity that amounted to intent to sell. While I was petitioning the court to take over as next of kin, my brother could be recognized for the soldier that he was and remembered by his whole family, friends, coworkers, and service members he was stationed with. Many had memories and stories they had wanted to share, but my dad said it was nice to finally have a family reunion, and he wouldn't let anyone speak.

My brother died in the state of NY. I live in SC. I had to remain up there for a little over seven months fighting for my brother's things, waiting for insurance policies to be straightened out, and planning a proper funeral, which he did get. This cost me a large amount of money from my pocket. I am a disabled veteran. I live on a fixed income. My bills were not getting paid so that I could care for my brother after death in the same loving and caring way I cared for him in life. I am now upside down in debt, meaning my bank account is constantly overdrafted and collecting additional fees. I really need help getting back on my feet now that I am home.

I had his insurance policies assigned to the estate instead of allowing them to go to my father, who had already given a "woman" in Nigeria 30 grand from my mother's death policy and stated my brother was worth nothing. All of us siblings agreed that he did not deserve a single penny. By assigning the policy to the estate, the money had to go toward his debt. When I petitioned the court, I used money as one of the factors for my father not to be next of kin; it was stipulated that no money or possessions would go to me or leave the state with me.

I would be forever grateful for any assistance that was provided to me, no matter how small the donation. I need to get my head back above water. I am drowning here.

Thank you for your time and consideration.