Q:

Can parents throw out belongings you have kept in their house?

I moved away for school when I was 19. At the time, I was living in my parents' house and left most of my possessions.
While I was away for school, my parent's got divorced. I'm not clear on the details, but I think my dad moved out first and forced my mom to sell the house so he got his portion back. Both of my parents now live in different places, though they obviously emptied the house before moving out.
I would now like some of my belongings back, such as winter boots. I asked my mom and she said she doesn't know where anything is. I asked my dad and he said I wasn't 19 when I got most of those things so they aren't mine. Is that true? Does it matter if they were gifted to me? 

A:

Fact is, your things are gone, disappeared, you are not going to get them back. You can try to get money by suing your parents. But suing your parents is rarely a good long term strategy. Your father made some argument why he isn't going to give you any money for your losses; whether it is a good or bad argument is irrelevant until you take him to court, and then what counts are the arguments that his lawyer will make, which will be much better arguments. 
In court, you would have to actually prove your losses. Have you got a receipt for your winter boots? How long ago is "when you were 19", important to estimate their value now. You would have to prove that you didn't just abandon everything. Did you just leave, or did you sign a contract that your parents should look after your things, and you would pay them some rental fee for the space in their loft, for example? How many years time did you have to pick up your things? 

