when someone deletes their SL account, what happens to their belongings left on a sim?

[J4NE Zane]

When an account is deleted, what happens to that persons belongings left on a sim?

I have just bought a sim including contents (trees and so on) and discovered that they belong to a closed account - will they vanish?

[Innula Zenovka]

If you bought the region including its contents, then the contents presumably now belong to you, not to the previous owner.

Examine them in the edit window.   Who is showing as the owner?

[Rolig Loon]

If you bought land and find that a previous owner has left stuff behind, return it.  As the land owner, you have total control of what you allow on your property.  You can return items individually or use World >>> About Land >>> Objects to identify items by owner.  Highlight an owner's name in the list, and click "Return".  Otherwise, As Innula says, if you bought the land and contents, keep whatever you like.

[Lindal Kidd]

Objects left on the land by a previous owner will only vanish under the following circumstances:

• You deliberately Return the objects.
• You set Auto-return on the land.

Otherwise, feel free to use them as you like.  You won't be able to edit them, though, so if something is in the way of something you're building, you will have to decide whether to move your build, or return the obstacle.

These behaviors are true whether the owner still has a Second Life account or not.  If they don't, and you Return their stuff, it will just be deleted.