7 Tips for Handling an Estate Cleanout of a Loved One

If you’ve ever had a loved one pass away, you’ll know there’s a lot to deal with afterward. You will need to make arrangements for the funeral and their finances, but that’s not all. You will also need to look after their estate and possibly clean out their home. And although this can be challenging to do, it is necessary so that you can move on. Once the house is cleared, you may also need to consider a probate sale if the property owner passes away without leaving a will. But exactly what is a probate sale? In a probate sale, once probate is opened, the property is sold, and all estate debts are paid. The proceeds of the sale are then distributed to the heirs. Here are some tips on how to handle an estate cleanout of a loved one.

Make a plan for cleaning out the estate

If you are thinking of cleaning out a deceased person's home, you need to make an estate cleanout plan first. Start by taking a walk through the property to identify what needs to be done and what items are in each room.

You also need to plan the amount of time you will spend on cleaning out the estate. Some rooms may have more things than others, so you will need to allocate more time for these spaces.

But, once you have figured out the amount of time you need to spend on each area, you can get to work so that you can finish the job as soon as possible.

Look after important possessions of your loved one

Once you start the deceased estate cleanout, you will need to think about what you will keep and throw away.

If you are not the only one looking after the deceased person's estate, you will need to go through and save anything that you think you or someone else may want to hold on to.

Treasured possessions like their jewelry, old photos, and their favorite knick-knacks are things that you should consider saving so that you can remember them. Still, everything else that is no longer needed can be disposed of.

Finding out what you want to keep before you start throwing things away will make it a lot easier to clear things out because you will already know what has to be thrown away.

You will also need to review any important papers or documents they may have kept and determine what is important. Things like bank statements, property deeds, and any other financial documents must be saved and passed on to their solicitors.

Disposing of deceased belongings is sometimes necessary

Although you may want to hold onto everything that your loved one has left behind, you can't.

You will need to get rid of the things that are not essential. Things like garbage, old papers, unwanted food and toiletries, and old clothes should be disposed of correctly.

If you have a lot of old clothes or furniture in good condition that you don’t want, donate them to charity.

Hire An Estate Lawyer

Is it necessary to hire an estate lawyer? Yes, especially if your loved one left many assets. Furthermore, when your loved one drafted a last will and testament, it should include the name of an executor. An executor refers to a person chosen by the testator (the person who wrote the will) to administer the estate.

If your loved one has chosen you as the executor of the will, you need to know if a Grant of Probate is necessary. The Grant of Probate gives you the legal authority to administer the estate of your loved one and deal with the probate. 

If your deceased family member didn’t have a will in place, the court would decide on the estate administrator under the inheritance law. The administrator needs to obtain a Grant of Letters of Administration. All estate administration steps and the probate process can commence upon obtaining such a grant. 

It would help to consult an expert to ensure the completion of all legal formalities. You can hire an estate lawyer to get expert legal advice on the trusts found in the last will. This professional can also help reduce estate inheritance tax which usually has computation mistakes.

Hire professional companies that clean out homes (i.e. deceased estate cleaning services)

If the cleaning out process is too much for you to handle on your own, you should hire some professionals to help you with the job.

Once you have moved everything out of the property, you should get some professional estate cleanout cleaners to come in and help you tidy up the place. This is especially important for people who are looking to sell or move new tenants into the property because it will make the place feel fresh for the new owners.

You should also hire some rubbish removal specialists to help you get rid of anything that you don’t want in the property.

If you're going to remove household junk, 1300 Rubbish can help you dispose of garbage that you can’t get rid of independently. Things like old appliances and furniture can be hard to move on your own, but if you have some professionals to help you, it should be easy.

Clearing out deceased estates isn't easy so give yourself some time

Because cleaning out a deceased estate is hard both emotionally and physically, you need to give yourself some extra time. It takes time to heal and let go of the person you have lost, so make sure to clear your schedule and give yourself plenty of time to complete the job.

Even if you think that you are ok and you will be fine to go through your loved one's possessions, it is always a good idea to try and give yourself a bit of extra time for cleaning if you can afford to do so.

You may find that you need to take a bit of time to say goodbye to the person that you have lost, so you should factor this into the time you have planned to clean out the house.

Many people find that they have to go through this process while still grieving, so it is normal to feel overwhelmed and need to take your time when you are cleaning out a deceased estate.

If you are feeling too overwhelmed, hiring a professional who deals with deceased estate cleanout and rubbish removals can give you some peace of mind and take away a lot of your stress.

Prepare the deceased estate for future inhabitants

Whether you are going to sell the house or someone will be moving in after you have cleaned it out, you need to make sure that people can live there. Anything that needs to be fixed should be attended to as soon as possible so that you can prevent any serious issues from happening when the new people move in.

You may need to give the walls, furniture, and other surfaces a coat of paint, and you should replace any floors or carpets that may have deteriorated over time.

Fixing things up will make it easier for you to sell or pass the property on to someone else because everything will be working well, and there will be no overall problems with the property itself.

Can you give any tips on performing an estate cleanout of a family member?