Handling Estate Items After A Loved One Passes Away

If you have a loved one that has recently passed away, and you are in charge of the estate, you will want to go through all of the items on the property to figure out where you think they would best belong. There are several ways to distribute items within the estate, so that you can start sale proceedings on the property. Here are some ways you can find new homes for the belongings in your loved one's home.

Start With Family

If there is a will present that specifies who is to get what, this will be done in a lawyer's office before you have rights to the property. After things are distributed, you will want to go through the remaining items. If you have no emotional hold on any of the items, decide who may benefit from having some of the belongings. There may be something sentimental that you can give one of your loved one's friends or family that would mean a great deal to them. 

Consider Hiring A Dealer

Hiring an independent dealer, furniture dealer or antique dealer can be the quickest and easiest way to unload the items within the estate. You will be offered a price for the items as a whole and the dealer will come to get the items to sell at various locations. The amount you make may be a bit lower than you might expect, but the convenience of having the items hauled away in a timely manner might make it worth your while to look into the service.

Hold An Auction

Another alternative would be to hire an auction company to handle the sale of the estate items. The items would be removed and taken to an auction house and they would be sold piece by piece to the highest bidder. The auction company would get a cut of the overall profit in the end. This is a great way to make some money on the items, but it is a longer process to carry out the entire procedure.

Have A Sale On The Premises

If time is not a worry, you can have your own private sale to sell the items. You would be able to set the prices to your own preferences and you would not have to let go of anything at a price lower than you think is fair. You would be able to sell the items at your leisure, and you can do it over the course of several weeks or months, if desired. This is a way to get more profit for your items, but it is very time-consuming and will take a lot of planning and preparation.

Whichever option you decide, consider having an antique appraisal expert look over the belongings so you have an idea of what they are worth and what you should expect to earn from selling them.

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