Take a look on the Apple site and you will find your answer. Key words to search either "lost password" or "recovery mode".

I am very sorry about your brother.

I would take it to an Apple Store. I don't know what kind of proof they might need to help you--death certificate? Something that identifies you as the rightful owner--statement from the executor? I don't know, but they must have a procedure. They have helped my kids get back into devices that were locked up, or passwords weren't working. They do make you understand that you will maybe/probably lose all the data stored in the device, though. Anyway, AppleStore would be my first stop.

I assume you've done a factory reset via iTunes given you say Activation lock. Should be on a white screen asking for apple id (his email address) and password.

If you have access to his email address, you can try resetting the password either by sending an email, or answering questions here Apple iForgot. If you don't have that, then you'd need a proof of purchase receipt or email receipt and a death certificate and Apple MAY unlock it for you then, but it's not a guarantee. Apple has been very stubborn on stuff like this because they don't know if it's stolen and your word unfortunately means nothing to them. There are may stories online of people trying to do this very thing and Apple gave them all the cold shoulder.

If you're trying to unlock the device with the passcode to access data on the device, your only hope is to guess the passcode, or try connecting it to a computer that he might have used to sync with the phone. In some cases, it will detect it as a trusted device and unlock the phone, but it's not a guarantee. If these don't work, then there is little Apple will do for you here. They don't store passcodes, and they won't even unlock a phone for a terrorist for the authorities, they will not help you here.

Sorry for your loss, and best of luck.

What Steve says is generally correct. However, also be aware that there is an iPad setting that your brother could have enabled which can erase all data from the device after 10 failed attempts, and the iPad will still be locked, hence unusable. The data will still be available in iCloud, but you have to know the password for his iCloud access to get at it.

This seems harsh, I know, but I actually appreciate it, because such measures ensure my privacy, and make my iPhone or my iPad much less interesting to a thief. This underscores the need for everyone to keep a password list around (in a secure place, of course) so someone else can access such devices in unfortunate circumstances.

I don't know if the OP cares about what's on the iPad, but I would think that wiping it completely and installing a new OS would protect any privacy issues and I would think Apple would do that (given proof about the situation). If you try to go through the email route, you would have to know not only his email address, but be able to log on to it, which means knowing his email password.

Mtv, most email apps or programs are pre-configured with the password for easy access. That's why i suggested that. If they don't have that access, then it would be tough. But to be honest with you, it's easier than dealing with Apple.

I think the device is already wiped considering what they're asking. But again, Apple plays hardball unless they can show a proof of purchase. Trust me, I manage thousands of Apple devices and they royally piss me off all the time with their unwillingness to help without a proof of purchase.