General Chat

just a thought....


if someone deceases,how soon can a house contents clearance take part?

have seen some of these tv auction programs and it at times seems pretty soon...
do they need probate? only it it never mentioned.
Bob.

You need probate if the estate is worth more than £5000. So if the deceased didnt own the house then after the exors have informed the bank etc and read the will then the property can be cleared.

I mean, I went to mums flat day before her funeral and then day after, my brother & I set to going through her clothes etc. I had to help him as my time down south was short.

Anything that was sold like a new fridge freezer, and a brand new bed, the monies went into a separate account until the estate was all settled. But we cleared out lots of rubbish and gave things free to charity shops etc.

It really depends on the circumstances and who is in charge and who the beneficiaries are. I mean, I couldn't just take what I felt like when we were sorting through as there were 2 other siblings.

Also depends what the person put in their will.

Hope this helps Bob

Slightly different in my late sisters case, There was no will left but she did own her house so the estate had to go to probate. All monies in bank accounts, life insurance, and refunds from tax or utilities were kept in the bank account but any personal items or furniture could be given to family as the family wished . Anything with a high value had to be declared on the list of contents. We removed all the contents and personal items which went to charity shops mainly and some family items photos, ornaments etc went to family who wanted them after the funeral. So the contents can be removed and the house cleared quite quickly but the house cannot be sold until the probate is through.

Mum went into a care home late 2020 and we put the flat on the market the following Jan. It sold quickly and the sale was progressing but Mum died in April 2021 so it all had to go through probate before completion. Probate was taking ages then due to the pandemic etc. The buyer had sold her place and wanted to move in so we came to an agreement for her to rent it, paying me a nominal amount until completion. Thus I had to get the flat cleared quite quickly but there were no issues.

Thank you all for your replies, much clearer now.
as it happens, owning the (my)house is no problem, but was thinking of personal possessions etc.

Bob

If your house is full of antiques and you’ve got masses of those men’s gold medallions and heavy sovereign rings ;-) then you must wait for the probate valuation to take place. You can get rid of your normal clothing but all that old rare designer clothing must also be evaluated.

Now we all have the most wonderful picture of you, haven’t we :-D :-D :-D :-D

Hmmmm if only...