Closure... Long Distance

So, this week has been a busy one, to say the least.  Since my great-uncle lived so far from here (approximately an 8 hour drive through MASSIVE amounts of snow right now), we've been trying to settle everything long-distance.  As it stands, they can't find a will registered up there, and with my Mom being listed as next-of-kin, there's a house, and whatever is left of his finances, etc. that all, legally, gets passed to her. 

I'm guessing you can see where the problem lies now.

With it all being so far away, we have *no idea* what shape anything has been left in, or really what all is even left.  Last I knew, he had a GREAT truck garaged up there, but as of right now, we have no idea if it was sold or not.  And no clue as to how to even get any of the records.  I mean, how do you determine what properties someone has from hundreds of miles away without a will being found?

We know that he has a now-unused plot in Chicago that he bought when my grandpa passed away... but he's being buried in Roscommon.  There is the possibility that there may be a will registered here in Chicago... but how do you find out?  I'm so clueless on all this, even with all the geneaology research I've done. =(

We just got the obituary taken care of yesterday, mentioning how much of friend he was of all the "woodland creatures" that he took the time to befriend over many, many years of literally living surrounded by woods.  We got just as many pictures of deer, raccoons, etc. than we did of his cats - cats that he ALWAYS had at least one of for as long as even my Mom can remember.

There are so many routes to go for doing more research on him for my tree...  He was intially in the Latvian army, but was captured as a P.O.W. by the German army during WWII.  They forced him into the German army, and he was then captured by the British army, again being forced to fight on their side.  He wound up working in a nursery in England for the army after WWII fizzed out.

I think the coolest part is that pretty much all of my Latvian relatives met in the camp.  My grandma, her sister, my grandpa and great uncle, and my great uncle (that married my grandma's sister).  My grandma and her sister even had a double wedding while still in the camp.  There are SO many stories with that group of family members...

Does anyone have any ideas for how to go about getting records?  I'm so lost here, it's making me crazy...