The first pass through an inherited home is an inventory pass. Do not start by filling removal bags. Confirm who can authorize decisions, secure records, and create a visual record of the rooms.
Confirm authority and boundaries
Identify the personal representative, trustee, owner, or other person authorized to direct the work. Florida Courts explains that probate gathers assets and distributes them to beneficiaries. If ownership or probate status is uncertain, get advice from a Florida probate lawyer before property leaves the home.
Photograph before sorting
Take wide photos of every room, closet, garage bay, and outdoor storage area. Follow with close photos of valuable, unusual, or disputed objects. Photos do not determine ownership, but they give remote relatives and advisers a record of what was present.
First-pass order
- Secure the property, keys, vehicles, mail, and access codes.
- Collect legal, financial, insurance, property, and identity records.
- Mark items named in estate documents or requested for review.
- Create keep, decide, donate-review, and remove zones.
- Estimate furniture, box, garage, and debris volume by room.
- Walk the loading route and note gates, stairs, and parking.
Protect personal information
Set aside computers, phones, drives, tax papers, statements, and mail. The FTC advises protecting documents that contain personal information. Use secure destruction for sensitive papers rather than mixing them into ordinary household debris.
Separate cleanout work from appraisal
A removal crew is not an appraiser. If an item may have financial, historical, or family value, keep it out of the removal area until the right person reviews it. This applies to collections, jewelry, art, tools, records, and apparently ordinary containers that have not been opened.
Once decisions are documented, review our inherited property cleanout scope and the contact options.