Person left country and free storage.

[BankFodder]

This sounds like the kind of brother that nobody really needs.

Anyway, the people who are looking after his property are gratuitous bailees – bailees at will. As such, they have no contractual obligations so that they have a great deal of flexibility and discretion as to what they do with the property.
However, they do have the duty to look after the property and take all reasonable care to make sure that it's not damaged while it is in their custody.

They can terminate the bailment whenever they want and so they should write to the brother and inform him that it has gone on too long and they can't manage it any more.
They want to know what he would like to do with the property but they are only giving him one month to sort it out after which time they will take their own action to have the items taken away.
They will do their best to get a price for the items but if any expenses are incurred having them moved, those expenses will be deducted from any money which is gained from the sale of the items after which the balance will be remitted to him, the brother.

Of course it's up to them – but I would urge them not to get involved in any kind of procrastination from the brother. They should be resolute and they should understand that even if this causes a problem in their relations with the brother, this will eventually be forgotten and things will continue.

They shouldn't get into an arrangement where they start charging for storage unless it is very clear that this is still a bailment at will and that they, the bailees, reserve the right to terminate the bailment at any time on a months notice and that in that case, the steps outlined above – disposal, deduction of expenses and accounting – will all be implemented.