Settle who can authorise things
Before anything moves, it needs to be clear who is instructing. An executor, an administrator, or an attorney acting under a power of attorney while someone is still living — and where there are several siblings, one named person that everybody has agreed will speak to us.
We will take instructions from that person and copy in whoever you ask us to. What we will not do is take conflicting instructions from different family members on the day.
Do the paperwork sweep first
Before any clearing starts, go through the house for documents. They are rarely in one place and they are the one category that cannot be replaced.
- Deeds, wills, insurance policies and share certificates.
- Bank and pension correspondence.
- Photographs and albums, which frequently live in the loft rather than with the papers.
- Anything in a cellar or garage, which is where paper deteriorates.
Then the four destinations, as usual
New place — or in this case, whoever is keeping something. On to family. Into storage, if decisions genuinely cannot be made yet. Cleared.
The storage category matters more here than in an ordinary downsize, because families frequently need time they do not have in the first weeks. Sealing a sensible amount and listing it properly is often the kindest thing to do.
Nobody clearing the house should be buying from it
We do not value, we do not buy, and we will not make an offer on anything we are clearing. A firm that does both has an obvious conflict of interest, and this is exactly the situation in which that matters most.
If we think something warrants a proper opinion, we will say so and stop, and you can get one.
Take longer than feels necessary
Where the house is not under pressure to be sold or handed back immediately, doing this in stages is almost always better. Papers first, then family, then storage, then clearance — with gaps in between.
We can work that way, and we will not push you to compress it.