If your beloved family member passes away unexpectedly, you may need help going through and selling their belongings and home. An estate sales planner understands your dilemma and may help you get through this tough time. The estate sales agent will clean out your loved one's home, garage and other structures for you. In addition, the estate planner may have your loved one's valuables and home appraised in order to obtain the maximum amount of proceeds for you. Here's what you may expect your estate planner to do and why.

Remove Junk From the Property

If your loved one collected old cars, lawn mowers and other items over the years, these things may clutter up the property. In order to attract potential estate buyers, your agent may remove the items before the sale. In this case, it's possible for the estate planner to sell the junk and add the money to your proceeds.

The property may have standing structures, such as a garage or utility shed, filled with valuables. These types of items may be added to your estate sale or placed for an auction, such as Cates Auction.

You may also donate the items to a recycling company. If you inherited the property and everything on it, you may be able to receive tax deductions and write-offs for them. However, understanding how real estate and inheritance tax deductions work may be tricky. It's a good idea that you ask the estate agent about these issues right away.  

Cut and Clean the Property

After the property is free of clutter, your estate agent may hire landscapers to clean it up. The landscapers may remove overgrown tree limbs, mow the grass and prune the plants around the home. Presenting your loved one's property in the best light may help increase the success of the estate sale.

You may wish to take pictures of the cleaned property and use them as a way to advertise your deceased loved one's estate sale. It may help you sell or get rid of the items faster.

Organize and Appraise Valuables

The items inside the home may be very valuable, especially if your loved one owned jewelry, antique furnishings and paintings. Having these items appraised before the estate sale may prevent you from losing out on your proceeds. Your estate sales agent may send you copies of the appraisals, which helps you decided whether or not to sale them or keep them for the future.

If you have concerns about your loved one's estate sale, call or email your estate planner for more information.