Clearing house after parent passes away

[SilveryMoon]

Hope someone can advise.
My dad passed very suddenly in the week, huge shock. I'm now in the position of needing to find money for the funeral. Is there a company/ second hand furniture shop that will come and buy larger pieces like sofas, wardrobes, kitchen appliances etc? Not sure I can wait for individual bits on gumtree/ Ebay etc.
Thanks

You'll be better off selling individually on Gumtree. Traders will give you peanuts for furniture etc. I had no idea how little they would give me until it was all sold.
In fact I even lied to my DB about the total amount as I knew he would have been hurt too by how little they gave us for our dear departed parents precious items.

Sorry about your dad. The British heart foundation might help. Dont rush, speak to the funeral directors about payment plan. The council may also be able to help with funds. Also ask if you might be eligible for a bereavement payment. Did your dad own his house and did he have money in bank accounts. If he has assets you should get legal advice about selling any belongings if probate will be needed and there are any beneficiaries.

Sorry for your loss, OP.

Go through everything yourself, even though it takes ages. People hide money and valuables in unlikely places. I've known firms/charities saying they'll do house clearances and only taking the good stuff they can sell on, leaving the bereaved people to deal with whatever is left.

I think when my Grandparents died we got an auction house to come and take some bits away that they thought they could sell. The rest went to charity

Have you spoken with his bank? They will release funds for a funeral if need be so make them your first port of call.

My dad also died recently - last month - and we are fortunate enough to be in the position to pay for it. But when I contacted his bank to advise of his passing, they offered this as a service they provide. I'm executor of his will and the releasing of funds from his account have to wait for grant of probate, but costs for a funeral is something they'll release immediately

Yes your first port of call is to speak to the back so they can release money to pay the FD.

Unfortunately second hand furniture has very little value so the best prices will be from selling individually. Do make sure you get the best price for the funeral, they will try to upsell, resist however hard because your dad wouldn't want you to spend money on it.

So sorry for your loss

Hi OP, I lost my FIL recently and we booked his funeral through Co-op Funeralcare. They asked about payment, whether we'd be paying ourselves or if it would be through the deceased's funds. We only had to pay a deposit. If you're father had sufficient funds in his accounts then you could do the same. Once you have the death certificate, take the certificate and proof of your identity to your father's bank and have a chat with them about releasing funds for the funeral.

I'm sorry for your loss

Sorry to hear about your father

Usually, you have to pay someone to empty a house, even if they are then going to sell whatever they can on. If your dad had some decent antique furniture, you could ask an auction house to look - but anything modern and/or repro generally loses all its value once you take it home.

We found British Heart Foundation and also Age Concern were brilliant.

Definitely contact his bank and once you’ve got copies of his death certificate you can register for the “tell us once” service online which lets everyone know - council tax, benefits etc etc. Banks will release funds for a funeral usually. You just send them the bill and they will sort it. (You need to check though). In fact banks usually pay out whatever is in the account to the next of kin once they’ve been informed of the death - my mums came to me.

We gave all my mums stuff to a domestic violence charity. They turned up with 2 large vans and took everything away. I was grateful for that as it made life easier for me- I know I could have made money selling on gumtree etc but I didn’t want the hassle.

Hi Silvery,

I had to do this with my mum recently. It really depends on the value of your dad's estate. If it's under a certain amount (5k I think) you don't need probate or a letter of administration (what you get if he didn't leave a will).

If you're needing to raise funds for funeral costs and your dad has only a small amount (less than 3k) in bank accounts most will release the funds immediately with no evidence other than death certificate and proof that you're the next of kin required.

Regarding furniture you're much better off trying to sell pieces individually; as previous posters have said you'll get peanuts from house clearance places unless it's really valuable - in which case it'd be better going to auction.

Hope you are holding up ok; it's a really grinding task