Inexplicable Email Deactivation/Trouble Reactivating

My problem is several-fold. First off, when I went to check my email this morning, I was told my (saved) password was incorrect. This has happened intermittently before, so I went to my usual routine when it happens; resetting the password.

However, when I got to the "reset password" page, I was told that my account had been designated "inactive." I am not sure who or why this decision might have been made, because I last signed in and used it literally last night--about 16 hours before.

Second, I was told I cannot re-activate it from my account; I need to go to the access account from which it originated, log in, and re-activate my own account. Now, I have had that account for upwards of 10 years, while I was below 18 when it was started, I was over 13, the age the information states is minimum. I am not sure why my account cannot be or has not been upgraded to let me activate it independently.

More importantly, the access account was in my father's name--and he died in 2006. It goes without saying that his email hasn't been used since then, I don't have access to his password, or the answers to his security questions.

Given how long I've had it, it really shouldn't come as a shock that this is my primary email account, with many important emails--like my bank statements and bills--come to it. I just want to access my email.

Can anybody provide assistance?