By Shayla M. Sharp

Don't you just love going to garage sales? Estate sales are even better, if for no other reason than that there is more stuff. More bargains to find, more treasures to sort through--it is all about the hunt after all. Well, at least for the hunter it is. For those who have the responsibility of wrapping up an estate, it can be overwhelming. Not only do you have personal emotions and memories associated with whomever was the estate owner, but you also have all the work of organizing and dealing with someone else's life. While not every estate sale comes from the parting of a loved one, they do usually signal an end to that part of life whether through death or a transition to different living facilities. If you've ever been the executor of a will, you know how insane it can get. And if you haven't, watch out! But, an estate sale can mean more than throwing an oversized garage sale--it also includes, literally, selling the estate, the real estate that is.

If you are planning your will, now is a good time to also plan the sale of your estate. If you are the one who will be dealing with the wishes of the estate owner, talk to them now so that you have the necessary information before you need it, and if it is a family member, make sure other members also know--it will make the transition much smoother with the cooperation of all involved. There will be a lot of work involved, and if you are in the middle of being the executor or administrator of an estate, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed and exhausted. Fortunately, there are some simple steps that you can take to make it all a lot easier on yourself.

Depending on the size of the estate and the state in which the estate is located, you may need to go through probate. Just what is probate?

The first step is to find all financial and legal documents pertaining to the estate. This may seem obvious when you are reading it, but you would be amazed at how many people do not even think to look for these things before they dig right in. Hopefully, the estate owner has put all important documents in one location and notified you of it. If not, you will need to sort through any and all papers carefully. Look for insurances, bank account information, stocks and bonds, and copies or updates of the will. Find the homeowner's policy and keep it effective until the sale of the property closes. If necessary, increase the coverage (sometimes these policies do not get updated in years and you may find the coverage is too low). Look for bill receipts--sadly, some bill collectors are less scrupulous and may try to claim the original estate owner owed them money for something already paid off. Also, look for personal records and paperwork such as birth certificates. After my uncle passed away, my aunt could not find his birth certificate and had my mom and aunt help her search for it. My mom found it--in between some papers that had been tossed into the garbage pile! The papers around it were not important, but there would have been some hassles and headaches without that certificate. While you are sorting papers, be sure and set aside sentimental things such as letters, poems, photos and other writings. These will bring comfort and good memories later on. Keep address books to notify the owner's friends of their passing.

Second, update the security. When you first start work on an estate, you might not know all the individuals with keys or security system passwords. Change the locks and passwords. Burglars and vandals look for unoccupied houses. You would not want someone breaking in and stealing nor would you want to walk in on someone who had entered without you knowing about it. Along with the idea of updating security is to have the estate's mail forwarded to yourself. This will keep mail from piling up where others can access it and possibly commit identity theft. It will also allow you to more easily keep track of any bills coming in and subscriptions that may need canceling. You may even get cards from friends of the owner--you'll want to send them a little note explaining what has happened.

Third, keep paying the bills. Often, people believe that when an owner has died that the bills don't matter any more. This is simply not true. Mortgages must be paid. If the utilities are in use, such as while you are there sorting things out, there will be bills for those. You may also want to consider continuing some services, such as yard maintenance, until the property sale closes. This will keep the appearance nice while freeing you from one more chore. If, for some reason, the financial status of the estate is a disaster and you find yourself unable to pay off bills until the property is sold, immediately contact any creditors and legal council to work out a delayed billing agreement. While you may still have interest accruing, the bills will be deferred until the sale of the estate when they can be paid off completely. When the property sale has finally closed, contact each service and close the accounts under the name of the original estate owner.

The fourth step is to carry out the wishes of the estate as set out in the will. After all legal issues are dealt with (such as probate), the possessions must be given to those in the will. Very often a will, will simply state that everything is divided equally amongst the inheritors (usually siblings). Expect feelings to run hot during this time. There will be some possessions that mean nothing to one person and everything to another--and there will be items that everyone wants. As executor, you will have to find a way to divide everything. I have seen families that auctioned everything off and family members had to purchase what they wanted to keep. Those with more money, or a willingness to spend more, were able to purchase more. While I can't personally recommend this method, it has been done. A more popular method is to take turns picking items. You will have to decide if you want items appraised for value prior to this or if you want to leave monetary value out of the decisions. Set up a method of rotation so that the same person is not always first, there will be less arguments and hard feelings this way. As executor, you will often find yourself in the position of mediator--deciding between two individuals who both want the same item. Try to keep emotional feelings and bias out of the decision and look for a compromise that both can live with. It is a sad fact that very close and loving families can end up not even speaking to each other after the division of an estate. Where emotions are involved, people often forget that it is just "stuff" and not as important as loved ones.

Usually, an estate has many items that no one really wants. This brings you to step five--the estate sale. Many executors hire someone to come in and appraise what is left. At this point, you, the executor, will need to decide how to deal with what is left. Do you want to sell it all in a lump sum to an auctioneer? Maybe you want to organize the sale of items yourself. For many, this part of an estate is nothing more than a huge headache--after all, you are probably trying to still live your own life including a job. This is where a professional can help. For years, my parents were antique dealers who also hired out to organize and run estate sales. They would come in and give the family estimates on values and what they could expect to get from the sale of items. Those individuals who did not want to deal with an estate sale were recommended to some highly ethical and professional auctioneers who could come in and auction off everything both individually and in lots--a much faster process than organizing and running a sale. For those who wanted the sale, they could contract with my parents to organize and arrange the items in the household, price everything and run the sale (including having individuals there to watch for theft--it happens a lot!). Be forewarned, there are unethical individuals out there who will appraise values extremely low in order to buy the items and turn around and sell them at a high profit or buy up all the valuable items before the sale can even begin thus hurting the success of a sale. An ethical dealer can tell you what the value is, what you could get from it in a shop, online, or at an estate sale, and, if they want to purchase the item, a price they can pay (it will be lower than the value, after all they want to make a fair profit in their business). Then you can decide how you want to proceed.

If you decide to run the sale yourself, you'll want to either hire some workers or hit up family and friends for help (maybe offer free lunch and cold sodas). You'll need to sort out the trash and get rid of anything broken. Go room by room and lay out items in a neat and orderly fashion. Price according to value. High value items such as antiques can be priced closer to their full value, but most items in a household should be at prices similar to garage sales. After all, you want to get rid of the stuff! Have your workers stationed throughout to help people and watch for theft of items. Always keep items of high value where they can be constantly supervised and, if possible, in a locked case. Someone should always be present at the register or cash table. Make highly visible signs and put ads in local papers. Decide before hand on some basic rules, such as do you allow early birds or entry signup sheets (believe me, that first day they will literally flood through the doorway without some level of control such as numbers), will you negotiate on prices or lower them at some point in the sale, how many people can come in at one time (tiny homes can only have so many inside before breakage and theft become a nightmare), and what will happen to items left after the sale. Take your time and stay calm--it will take a lot of work, but it can be successfully done.

Finally, step six, prepare the house for sale. During the estate sale, many potential real estate buyers will see the property, but the main time buyers will be able to really see the property is after all the everyday and personal items have been removed. As executor, you will need to get the property ready for sale. This may include removing old and worn out furniture, replacing any damaged or outdated floors, cleaning the house and sprucing up the yard, painting and updating the fixtures of the house (remove those amber chandeliers, please). You may know what needs to be done, or if you need the help of a professional, contact a realtor. They will know what can be left "as is" and what should be changed for the quickest sale at the highest price--and who doesn't want that!

Having completed these six steps, you will be ready to contract with a professional real estate agent and literally, sell the estate and distribute the results to the inheritors. Just remember, when in doubt bring in professionals whether they are attorneys, estate administrators, sales professionals or realtors to make sure that you are following the correct legal steps and saving yourself from further work and hassles.

• For more legal reading, visit Nolo Press.

 

Article first published at NWAbode.com in August 2009.

Shayla M. Sharp, owner of White Dragon Studios and freelance writer, enjoys design in all its aspects whether she's designing jewelry or trying to get two-year olds to hold stilll for a portrait. She lives in Oregon with her best pal Stars, a border collie mix, where she plants vegetables and flowers for him to run over.