The complete guide to handling an estate cleanout in North Texas

If you are reading this, you have probably just lost someone, and the house has landed on a list that is already too long. Very little of it is urgent. Here is the order of work, whether the family does most of it or hands the heavy part to a crew that clears family homes.

• Settle authority first. Usually an executor or administrator approved by the probate court is in charge of the contents; until then, secure the house and find the paperwork.
• Order beats speed: family, then the sale, then donation, then the haul-away. Reversing it is how keepsakes get lost.
• Volume sets the price. Whatever the family keeps, sells or donates is space you do not pay for; a full truck starts at $699.

Who has authority to clear a probate house in Texas?

In Texas, the person legally in charge of an estate's property is the personal representative: an executor if there is a will, an administrator if there is not. The court has to approve them, and the probate clerk then issues letters testamentary or letters of administration: the document that lets them act for the estate, collect its property and transfer titles.

Some smaller estates use a small estate affidavit instead. It requires no will, an estate worth $75,000 or less (not counting the homestead and exempt property), assets that exceed debts, and at least 30 days since the death, and it can pass the house only to a surviving spouse or minor child. In Dallas County, the clerk's probate division at 600 Commerce St. lists a $360 filing fee.

Which route fits is a question for a probate attorney, and almost every probate case needs one; TexasLawHelp.org's guide to handling an estate in Texas explains the options. Meanwhile, do the work that moves nothing out of the house: secure it, find the paperwork and photograph every room.

A realistic timeline, from the first week to an empty house

No law sets this pace; the court and the family's readiness do. Treat it as a typical sequence, not a schedule.

How to clean out a deceased parent's house, room by room

Work from what matters most to what matters least, so nothing is thrown away before someone could want it.

1. Keep and distribute. Family members tag or take what they are keeping, one color of tape per person.
2. Sell. Furniture, jewelry, tools, art and collectibles go to an estate sale, an auction or a private buyer.
3. Donate. Clean, working, complete items go to charity; this guide to furniture donation pickups in Dallas covers what charities accept.
4. Recycle. Metal, electronics, cardboard and paper. Shred anything with account or Social Security numbers first.
5. Discard. Whatever is broken, stained or worn out. Junk Koala Dallas sorts every load as it is loaded: usable items to donation or resale; metal, electronics and cardboard to recycling, with mattresses wherever a facility accepts them; only the rest to landfill.

What to set aside before anything leaves the house

Paperwork and valuables hide in coat pockets, books, freezers and the backs of drawers. Check for these before any bag goes out:

• The will and legal papers. No will at home? Ask the county clerk whether one was deposited for safekeeping; it is rare, but it happens. Keep deeds, titles and policies with it.
• Financial records. Statements, tax returns and unopened mail reveal accounts, and the year's records are needed for the final income tax return.
• Valuables and keepsakes. Jewelry, cash, coins, art, photographs, letters, military papers and medals. Appraise anything uncertain before a sale prices it.
• Safe deposit boxes. In Texas, a spouse, parent, adult child or named executor can search one for a will, burial instructions or a life insurance policy, supervised by the bank.
• Firearms. Leave them for the executor: whoever receives one must be legally allowed to possess it, so any transfer has to follow state and federal law. The Texas State Law Library explains the basics.
• Medications and needles. The FDA's first choice for medicines is a take-back option, such as a pharmacy drop box or a prepaid mail-back envelope; used needles go into a sharps container.
• Rented equipment. A hospital bed or oxygen equipment that was rented goes back to the supplier.

What cannot go on the truck

Paint, solvents, fuel, asbestos and other hazardous materials cannot go on our truck. Residents of Dallas and other member cities can take household chemicals, paint, pool products and batteries to the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center at 11234 Plano Rd free, with a driver's license and a utility bill; others pay at least $100. It refuses ammunition, explosives and medical waste. See where hazardous waste goes in Dallas County.

Estate sale vs estate cleanout: do you need one or both?

An estate sale company turns valuables into money; a cleanout crew turns a full house into an empty one. Many family homes need both, in that order.

Unsure whether there is enough to sell? Ask an estate sale company to look first. If there is not, a whole-house clear-out takes everything at once.

What does clearing out an estate cost, and why?

The clear-out is priced by the space the load takes in the truck, not by the hour, so the biggest factor is how much is left. Junk Koala Dallas shows the price online, from photos or an item list, before a crew is dispatched. Starting prices:

• A single item: from $129.
• A minimum load, roughly an eighth of the truck: from $149.
• A quarter of the truck: from $249.
• Half the truck: from $419.
• A full truck: from $699.

More than one truckload is quoted after a walkthrough. Heavy material such as concrete, tile, soil and roofing is priced by weight, and booking online takes up to $20 off jobs above the minimum. The full pricing breakdown compares the load sizes.

Handling it all from out of state

Living outside Texas does not bar you from serving as executor, though the court requires a Texas resident agent to accept legal papers for the estate; your attorney can arrange one. The rest can run remotely:

• Scope it from photos. A neighbor or relative can send wide shots of every room, the garage, attic and shed; Junk Koala Dallas prices from those before anyone is dispatched.
• Arrange access. A lockbox or a local key-holder, such as the listing agent, saves a flight, and the agent can say when the house is ready for listing photos.
• Walk relatives through on video so they can point out what to keep.
• Ask for photos of every finished room before handing over the keys.

A printable checklist for clearing the house

Print this estate cleanout checklist and work down it in order.

• Confirm who has authority, and talk to a probate attorney.
• Secure the house, and tell the insurer it is empty.
• Find the will, deeds, titles, policies and statements.
• Photograph every room before anything moves.
• Remove medications, firearms, cash, jewelry and personal papers.
• Let family tag or take what they are keeping.
• Appraise valuables, then hold the sale, with a city permit in Dallas.
• Book charity pickups for usable furniture and goods.
• Take paint, chemicals and batteries to the county center.
• Book the clear-out for everything that is left.
• Hand over the keys after a final check of closets, attic, garage and shed.