Clearing deceased’s house after death

HampshireH

The implication in handing the keys back is that you weren't going to clear the rest .

They dont do house clearances for free I'm afraid.

frayedknot

HampshireH said:

The implication in handing the keys back is that you weren't going to clear the rest .

They dont do house clearances for free I'm afraid.

They do if the estate is insolvent.

SevenOfNine

They cleared my aunt's flat in London free of charge. Said we could have a week to go through it all & remove personal things (but forgot to mention we'd be charged rent for that week - but never mind), actually said we could just leave the stuff & they'd get rid of it all.  They'd helped her get rid of some things free when she was alive (elderly) & her place was so full of junk 'friends' had asked her to store & never come back for, & a hoarder herself she could hardly move!  Insisted in fact, I think she had mice at one point.

The way she lived, & with a lot of help with her rent, I reckon they thought the estate was probably insolvent.  In reality she had £26k in the bank she just chose to live like a pauper with the flat like a dump. They didn't ask so we just let them deal with it, presume they wanted a quick turnaround.

lisyloo

What did you think was going to happen?
clearly it needs to be done as others are in need.
who did you think was going to do it if you didn’t?
or is it just the amount you dispute?
I suspect there is an element of subsiding those they can’t reclaim.
there would have been a tenancy agreement so most likely you have to pay it if the money is there. If there isn’t enough then be careful about who gets paid and who doesn’t because you are potentially liable as executor for getting this right.
its not clear who you expected to do this.
i know it’s a difficult time but if you wanted it done more cheaply you should have been more proactive. There are people who will do it more cheaply as the contents have some residual value.

zwixxx

late I know but:

is it possible to arrange a clearance beforehand, like arranging ones own cremation?

ideally I'd like to have all my stuff taken away and destroyed (after any financial things have been sorted) but no idea if this service is available.

but the main aim is to have no relation, however distant, called on or responsible for the clearance.

Savvy_Sue

zwixxx said:

late I know but:

is it possible to arrange a clearance beforehand, like arranging ones own cremation?

ideally I'd like to have all my stuff taken away and destroyed (after any financial things have been sorted) but no idea if this service is available.

but the main aim is to have no relation, however distant, called on or responsible for the clearance.

I am not sure: the difficulty is that there is no way of knowing how much 'stuff' you might have at the time the service is needed! 

Plus, if someone's got to go through to sort the financial things, it may not be that much more work for them to find a service to deal with the rest, and you might be able to make that a clause in your will, ie that your stuff is not to be passed on. 

Another 'issue' is the destruction. We used an absolutely amazing clearance service, and their aim was to re-use or recycle as much as possible. Do you really mean 'destruction' or just 'get rid of'?