Clearing a home after someone has died: what comes first

Before anything else, the death has to be registered. You must wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm that you can register it, and then register within 5 days, or 8 days in Scotland. If a death is reported to a coroner, the documents and timing can differ.

When you register, the registrar can help you use Tell Us Once, a service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go, where the person normally lived in England, Scotland or Wales. It saves contacting council tax, benefits, DVLA and others separately.

Source: gov.uk

Probate is the legal right to deal with someone's property, money and possessions, their estate, when they die. Government guidance says you should not make financial plans or put property on the market until you have probate, where it is needed. Property owned as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner, and some small estates may not need probate at all.

The contents of the home are part of the estate. Before a clearance, the person dealing with the estate needs to know what is valuable, what the will says about particular items, and who else should have a say. Clearing first and sorting out the will afterwards is how family disputes start. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules on dealing with an estate.

Source: gov.uk

• search for the will, deeds, insurance policies, bank and pension paperwork
• photograph rooms and note items of value or sentimental importance
• agree with the family what each person wants to keep
• check the buildings insurance: many policies change when a home is empty
• redirect post and keep utilities running while the home is being cleared
• check the lease or tenancy if the home was rented, including notice periods

A clearance firm experienced with bereavements works through the house methodically, sets aside documents, photographs and personal papers for the family rather than binning them, and tells you before it disposes of anything that might have value. It should be clear about what it will sell, donate, recycle or send to disposal, and whether any resale value is offset against the price.

It must also be registered to carry waste. Under the household waste duty of care, whoever is responsible for the home must check that a private waste collector is authorised, using the upper tier of the waste carrier register in England or the equivalent registers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Keep the receipt or transfer note.

Source: gov.uk

If the person rented their home, the tenancy and any notice period affect how quickly it must be cleared; landlords and housing associations usually expect the property returned empty. If the home was owned, there is often more time, but empty properties raise insurance and security questions, and clearing too early can leave a house looking abandoned.

Some families clear in two stages: first the personal items and anything the family keeps, then a full clearance once probate is granted and the house is being prepared for sale. Tell the clearance company which stage you are at.

Allow for the unexpected. Clearances often turn up items that change plans: a second will, documents for an account nobody knew about, or belongings that another relative believes were promised to them. Pausing to deal with these properly is better than having to explain later why something was thrown away. A clearance firm used to bereavement work will expect this and build in a check with you before the final loads leave.

Describe the property, its size and what needs to go in our request form, and mention if items must be kept aside. The request goes to exactly one clearance company in your area that buys it. We email you its name, address and phone number before it receives your details, and the service is free for you.