1. Secure the house and agree who decides
Change or collect the keys, check the locks, and make sure someone is watching the mail and the yard. Then settle one thing among the family: who has the final say on the house and its contents. If that isn't clear yet, that's a question for the estate attorney, and it's worth answering before anything is sold.
- Collect every key and garage remote
- Check doors, windows and the alarm
- Forward or collect the mail
- Agree on one decision-maker, or ask the attorney who it is
2. Don't clear it too fast
The urge to empty the house is strong, especially if you're paying for it to sit. But a dumpster in the driveway on week one is how silver ends up in a donation box and a collection gets split up. Clearing is the last step, not the first.
3. Set aside papers and keepsakes
Go through drawers, closets and boxes looking for two things only: documents and anything the family wants to keep. Bank statements, titles, insurance, wills, photographs, letters, the things people will ask about later. Move them to one place. Leave everything else exactly where it is.
- Wills, trusts and anything from an attorney
- Bank, investment and insurance papers
- Vehicle titles and property records
- Photos, letters and family pieces
- Anything a relative has already asked for
4. Find out what could sell
Furniture, jewelry, silver, art, tools, records, cameras, holiday décor: some of it has buyers, some doesn't, and it's hard to tell from the inside. A walkthrough sorts the house into what fits an estate sale, what might go to an online auction or a specialist, and what should be donated or cleared.
Specialty collections deserve their own look. Leave them together and mention them when you call.
5. Choose how the contents leave
For most full households, a public estate sale does the heavy lifting. Collections may sell better at auction or through private channels. Small, ordinary contents may not justify a sale at all. Choosing the path is the point of the walkthrough, and we'll say plainly if a sale isn't worth it.
6. Plan the cleanout and what remains
Decide before the sale what happens to what's left: donation, further selling, a cleanout crew. That way the house is empty on the date you need, not two weeks after.
7. Then decide about the house
Once the contents have a plan, the house decision gets clearer: keep it, rent it, sell it as-is, or prepare it for a listing. If you want to sell, licensed real-estate work goes through a brokerage under a separate agreement. Poshlando Realty is ours; you can use any agent you choose.
Poshlando doesn't give legal or tax advice. Questions about probate, authority, deeds, taxes or how proceeds are divided belong with an estate attorney or tax professional.