Start here
Six Things to Do First
All six are free, all take under an hour together, and every one of them prevents a problem.
Unhurried, itemized, and with a written record. Bring the co-executor, the attorney, or whoever else needs to see it.
The six
In order, and none of them requires an expert.
- Photograph everything, individually, on a plain background.
- Check the will for specific bequests before anything moves.
- Confirm with your attorney that you have authority to sell.
- Circulate the photographs to beneficiaries and ask what they want.
- Look for boxes, papers, certificates and old appraisals in other drawers.
- Put the whole lot somewhere secure while you work through it.
Why photographs first
Because every later question — from a beneficiary, from the court, from your own memory — is answered by the photographs, and they cannot be taken afterwards.
Ten minutes with a phone is the highest-value thing anybody does in this entire process.
What not to do
Do not clean coins. Do not polish silver. Do not remove stones from settings. Do not sell anything before checking the will.
And do not let anybody make you feel there is a deadline. There almost never is one on jewelry.
FAQ
Common questions
- What is the single most useful step?
- Photographing everything before anything moves. It cannot be done afterwards.
- Should we clean anything?
- No. Not coins, not silver, not jewelry.
- Is there a deadline?
- Almost never on jewelry. The house may have one; the box does not.
- Do we need an appraisal first?
- Not always. Ask your attorney whether the estate requires one.
Next step
Run it both ways before you decide.
No credit check and no obligation. Tell us what you hold and what the money is for, and if selling is the better answer for your situation you will be told that first.