Executor Home Cleanout Checklist for BC

Start by securing the property. Change the locks if you're unsure who has keys, set the alarm if there is one, and make sure the home is insured for the period between the death and the sale or transfer. Gather every set of keys, alarm codes, garage remotes, and mailbox keys into one place.

If you live out of province or abroad, ask a trusted neighbour, friend, or building manager to check on the home periodically. For a Vancouver condo, let the building manager or strata know the unit is vacant and who to contact if there's a problem.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

Find the will and any letter of wishes. Confirm with the estate's lawyer that you are the named executor and that probate, if required, is in progress. This is a legal step, so confirm timelines and responsibilities with your estate lawyer rather than relying on this guide for legal advice.

Make a list of named beneficiaries and their contact details. You'll need it when it comes time to share the written quote and the donation summary with the people who have an interest in the estate.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

Before a single box leaves, photograph every room, shelf, and drawer. These photos protect you as executor, create a record of what was in the home, and give us a starting point for the quote. Walk through room by room and take wide shots plus close-ups of anything valuable or sentimental.

If you're out of town, we can take these photos for you and send them by text or email. That way you have a complete record without travelling.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

Ask family members which items they'd like. It helps to work from the photos you just took. Label anything claimed with the person's name and set it aside in a safe spot. Anything you're unsure about, leave in place and flag for a second look.

Keepsakes, documents, and jewellery should be gathered and listed separately. We never remove anything a family has asked us to keep, and we'll ask before touching anything we're unsure about.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

Send us a few photos or book a walkthrough. We'll send a fixed, itemized quote in writing with no hidden fees. If there's donation or resale value in the home, we note the credit that can lower your cost.

You can share that written quote with beneficiaries and the estate lawyer so everyone is on the same page before any work begins.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

Once you approve the quote in writing, we schedule the cleanout around your timeline. If the home is being sold, we coordinate with the realtor and the listing date. If it's a handover, we work to the date the family needs the keys returned.

For a Vancouver condo, this is when we book the elevator, file the strata move-out forms, and reserve the loading bay. We handle the building's rules so you don't have to.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

On the day, we work room by room. Usable items go to local Vancouver charities, valuable pieces are set aside for resale, and metal, electronics, paper, and glass are sorted for recycling. You receive progress photos throughout the day.

If you're managing from out of town, those photos are how you see the home from anywhere. We text or email them as each room is finished.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.

At the end, we sweep and tidy so the home is broom clean and ready to list, hand over, or move on from. You receive a donation summary, and where applicable, resale details, for the estate's records.

Keep that summary with the estate paperwork. It shows what was donated and resold, which matters when you're accounting to beneficiaries.

• Confirm any probate or legal step with your estate lawyer.