Guides for sorting through a loved one's home
Plain, practical help with clearing a house, working out what things are worth, and sharing them out fairly. Written for families in the UK.
Clearing a home
Where to begin, what you're allowed to touch, and what it costs.
House clearance after someone dies: how to clear a home
Where to start when a whole home needs sorting, which rooms to leave until later, and what needs care before anything leaves the house.
Can you clear a house before probate?
What executors and relatives can safely do while waiting for the grant, and what should wait until it arrives.
How much does house clearance cost in the UK?
Typical prices by van load and house size, what pushes the cost up, and how to pay less by sorting things first.
Which charities collect furniture for free?
Who will take furniture away for free, how fire labels work, and what to do with the pieces charities turn down.
Finding out what things are worth
Valuing contents for probate, researching antiques, and selling well.
How to value house contents for probate
What open market value means, what you can estimate yourself, when you need a professional, and how to fill in form IHT407.
How to sell antiques and inherited items in the UK
Auction, dealer or online: what each route really costs, and the rules on ivory and tax you should know before you sell.
How to value antiques
How to work out what you've got, check what similar things really sold for, and decide when an expert is worth paying.
Reading hallmarks
What the marks on silver and gold tell you, office by office.
How to read silver hallmarks
What the lion, the town mark, the date letter and the maker's initials tell you, and how to tell real silver from plate.
How to read Birmingham silver hallmarks
What the anchor tells you, and a table of Birmingham's date letter cycles from 1773.
How to read Chester silver hallmarks
What the wheatsheaves and sword tell you, plus a table of Chester's date letter cycles up to its closure in 1962.
How to read gold hallmarks
What the numbers mean in carats, how older marks differ, and how to tell gold from plate.
How to read London silver hallmarks
What the leopard's head tells you, and a table of London's date letter cycles from 1697.
How to read Sheffield silver hallmarks
What the crown and rose tell you, a table of date letter cycles from 1773, and how to avoid confusing silver with plate.
Probate and the legal side
The first days after a death, what probate involves, and what executors do.
What to do when someone dies
The first few days and weeks after a death, in the order things usually need doing.
How long does probate take?
The latest court figures, why some applications take far longer, and how long the whole estate usually takes.
What does an executor do?
The job from start to finish, in the order it happens, including what you're personally responsible for.
What is a deed of variation?
How people who inherit can redirect what they receive, the two-year limit and what HMRC needs.
What is probate?
What the word means, when you need a grant, who can apply and what it costs.
Who gets what
Sharing belongings fairly, and writing down what you'd like to happen.
How to divide a parent's belongings fairly
Fair methods that work between brothers and sisters, including what to do when two of you want the same thing.
What are personal chattels?
The legal meaning of chattels, what's included and left out, and why the wording in a will matters.
What is a letter of wishes?
How to explain who should have what and why, with wording you can adapt and advice on keeping it safe.