A house has a lot of memories, whether it’s of time spent there as a child or more recent family get togethers. And when a loved one is just gone, it’s often hard to walk back through the front door. Yet it’s a vital part of the process of getting your loved one’s affairs in order, and moving on, whether that person was your grandmother, father, uncle or beloved neighbour.
It’s a good idea to do this at your own pace wherever possible, but try not to delay too much as this will make things worse when you do go in. Naturally, you need to take a few days to sort out the paperwork and ensure that the appropriate people are informed. These include their GP, the registrar at the local Register Office, and various government offices. The registrar will tell you if the Tell Us Once service is available – this lets you inform HMRC, the DWP, the passport office, the DVLA, the local council and any public sector pension schemes in one go. Don’t forget the bank, either, as they will have to freeze any bank account until probate is resolved.
Talk to your employer, if applicable, and arrange for bereavement leave. How much you have will depend on your employer and your circumstances.
Stage one: Calling people
In some cases, you may wish clear the property yourself, but it does help to have the support of other people. In addition, some people may want a particular item to remind themselves of your loved one, such as a treasured toolbox or a favourite mug.
Have a chat with your loved one’s solicitor to see if they have a will. Hopefully they do, but in some cases they may not. If they died intestate (without a will), it makes the process a little harder. Only direct relatives and married partners or those in a civil partnership can inherit. There are set rules, which are detailed in this Citizens Advice Bureau article.
You also want to make sure that you talk to people who handle your loved one’s utilities and other aspects related to the home. These include:
- Gas
- Electricity
- Water
- Internet and phone line
- Service-based subscriptions (such as boiler repair services)
- Insurers
- Council tax
Pets will need feeding urgently and will likely need rehoming as soon as possible.
Stage two: Clearing the house
Although everyone is different, quite often the best thing to do is to give the house a quick tidy first. Throw away any food or rubbish that is present, and get rid of any disposables, such as toothbrushes, soap and so on. Keep any paperwork that you find, as it may turn out to be important. Give the floors a quick clean with the vacuum, this will hopefully free up some space.
Next, you will want to collect boxes to store items in. In each room, create piles for saving, selling, donating, recycling and rubbish. This is particularly effective in bedrooms, as items can easily be piled on top of each other. Make sure you reserve the items that other people want separately, and it’s a good idea to put them into labelled boxes. If they’re too big for the boxes, such as a chest of drawers or a freezer, just put a label on them.
You can take photographs of any items and distribute them to your family and friends via an email list. There will be times when several people want the same thing, and that can be a source of tension, so aim to resolve that tension as best as possible. If there are several items that are disputed, you can ask people to put items in order of priority or you can simply alternate between people.
Work your way from the top to the bottom of the house, but make sure to take regular breaks. This is an emotionally draining time.
The bedroom
It pays to be practical in the bedroom as you need to decide what clothes you or other people can realistically wear. In many cases, the clothing goes to charities, and the furniture either ends up in people’s homes or being donated as well. Anything that is too worn should end up in the rubbish pile.
When you do give clothing to charity, donate them a few towns over, preferably one that you rarely visit. There’s a chance that you might see your loved one’s clothing on display, and that can be quite heartbreaking if it’s an item of clothing that you particularly associate with them.
You may wish to get rid of the bed, particularly if it was where your loved one died. Local councils will often fetch it for a fee, or you can arrange for a friend with a van to take it to the tip. The same applies to any large items you encounter that don’t want to keep, but are unlikely to sell.
Furniture – especially bedroom furniture – often isn’t worth much, but you may wish to talk to a valuer at your local auction house to see if there is anything particularly interesting. Arts and crafts furniture, for example, will often fetch a few hundred pounds, and Victorian furniture will sometimes fetch even more.
In some cases, the insurance policy will provide details of particularly valuable furniture, which makes life a little easier.
In the living room
If you’re looking to dispose of the sofa, then many councils will treat a three-piece (a sofa and two armchairs) as one item for the purposes of collecting it from the house.
Don’t forget photos and other small mementos. With photos, if you want a copy, you can usually arrange one with a local photography shop or printshop. This can help to reduce issues where two people want the same photograph.
In the office or workshop
These rooms can be particularly difficult because they are often what you associate your loved one with doing. If your grandfather, for example, wrote a lot, you may have to look through his articles and novels and determine what you want to keep. If your mother loved to paint, do woodwork or make pots, you may wish to look at her designs and artwork and keep them.
In most cases, the artwork, pots or novels will have sentimental value only, but it could be worth holding onto them if you have the space. If you don’t, take copies or photographs of them.
In the kitchen
Quite often, used items that are showing signs of wear – non-stick pots and baking trays in particular – should be disposed of.
If the freezer, washing machine or fridge is to be kept, you will need to arrange to have it moved. It may be worth hiring a large van for a day or two so that you can transport these items. Prices typically run between £30 to £50 per day plus extras, depending on how old you are and where you hire it from.
Computers
Computers often contain a lot of personal information and passwords. They could also contain files and documents that you may wish to recover, such as pictures, stories and even memories. It’s usually best to talk to a local computer shop, and they can help guide you through your options.
The final curtain
You may have to choose at some point whether you wish to sell the house. Such a decision should be reached after talking to with family members and considering all the available options – and if the house is particularly valuable or the estate is very large, it may be subject to inheritance tax.
Should this happen, it’s worth talking to one of our Yopa property experts who can talk you through your options, give you an accurate valuation and provide a no-sale, no fee option should you need it.
