AM Northwest·July 13, 2020

Clearing Out Your Parents' Home

When it's time to clean out your parent's home, knowing where to begin can feel overwhelming. But Gary Germer can help get you started. The antique appraiser joined us to share his expert tips on cleaning out your parents' home.

1. Pre-planning with parents and family

Make clear, in writing, who is going to inherit what. Money, investments, and real estate are fairly easy to establish value for and divide, but personal things are much harder. No masking tape with names on it, no "Mom told me" — only what is in writing counts in the end.
Parents might hide money or jewelry, but they need to either tell a close friend or write down where they put things and keep that with their important papers. Millions of dollars in cash and valuables are now in landfills because no one stumbled on them after someone passed.
Choose one person only to be executor.

2. Dealing after the fact with an estate

First, the obvious: distribute willed and gifted items. Throw out wet garbage, old food, old newspapers, and obvious garbage (if in doubt, save it). Secure guns, gold, family photos, and papers.
Check for hidden money and valuables — clothing pockets, books, button jars, above/behind closet doors, in jars of nails in the garage, etc. (Put all jewelry, silver, gold, and guns somewhere safe — those are the most liquid.)
If handling the sale yourself: relax, you are going to screw up, but only a little. After the family is done, whatever remains in the house is for liquidation. Sell first, donate second — get things sorted by subject. Set the rest up to look like a nice department store, priced clearly, all clean and polished. Hire a professional appraiser or estate provider to come help price things — do not sell to them, pay them by the hour for their time.

3. When you need professional help