What Happens If I Die Without a Will?
Dying without a will means you are what the courts consider “intestate,” which means laws of your state determine how your property is distributed. In most cases, your assets would go to your spouse,...
As many of you know, my mother passed away recently. A long time ago I did her estate plan. I had her execute a Will, Living Will and a Power of Attorney. Those documents helped out a lot as she went on hospice. It allowed me to pay her bills and instruct the doctors on what her wishes were. I had them read the Living Will and confirm what she wanted and did not want for life support. It was comforting to be able to concentrate on her in the last few days, and not have to worry about the details. What I had not given thought to was cleaning out her home once she was gone.
My mom was 86 when she died. That meant that she had 86 years of stuff she had acquired and stored in her home. The magnatude of the undertaking seemed overwhelming. But then I discovered 3 steps to cleaning out her home. Once I employed those steps I was able to clean out the home in less than 2 weeks! Here are the steps:
1. Go through the home and take out everything that you and your loved ones want. Take out the pictures and the property that has sentimental value and get them to the people who will appreciate them.
2. Once you have removed what you want, call an auction company. The one I used said that their cheif competition is ignorance. I was folding a sweater when they arrived. "Stop" they said. Your folding cashmier and we can sell that! In 3 hours all the things of value had been packed up and removed.
3. Once the auction company removes everything of value call a junk company to haul away the things that don't have value. Boom! the house is cleaned out.
The bottom line here is simple: Losing a loved one is hard. Don't make it harder by exhausting your mind and body by clearing out the home. If you have questions about liquidating the estate or any other aspect of probate, please call us. We are here to help.
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