Before you clear anything — the legal position
Under Australian law, the person legally responsible for clearing a deceased estate depends on how the estate is being administered. If there's a will, the executor named in the will is responsible once probate is granted. If there's no will (intestacy) or the will is being contested, the letters of administration have to be issued before belongings should be moved, sold or disposed of.
Executors have limited scope to act before probate — usually restricted to preserving and protecting the estate's property, which includes moving belongings into secure storage if the property has to be handed back to a landlord urgently. Selling, distributing, or disposing of anything of value before probate is granted is generally not permitted and can create legal issues later. If you're unsure of your legal position, get advice from a probate solicitor before you begin.
Step 1 — Locate the will and secure important documents
The first task is finding the will (if there is one) and securing key documents: birth/death/marriage certificates, bank statements, superannuation records, insurance policies, property deeds, tax returns for the last 3 years, medicare/pension paperwork, any powers of attorney, and (increasingly important) digital account information — passwords, subscriptions, social media accounts. These may need to be handed to the executor's solicitor for probate.
A simple filing box or expanding folder works. Anything you're unsure about, keep — the solicitor will tell you what's needed later.
Step 2 — Decide whether formal administration is required
Not every estate requires probate. Small estates (usually under $50,000 in value in most Australian states, though the threshold varies) or estates where assets were jointly held (a family home in joint names, a joint bank account) sometimes don't need formal administration. A quick call to a probate solicitor establishes whether formal administration is needed for the specific estate. Many solicitors offer a free first consultation.
Step 3 — Notify the essentials
While waiting on probate, notifications need to happen: the deceased's bank, superannuation fund, employer, insurance companies, Medicare, Centrelink/DVA, utilities (electricity, gas, water, phone, internet), council rates, any subscription services, and — if a landlord property — the landlord or property manager. The Australian Death Notification Service (a single online service) handles many of the financial institutions in one go and can save significant time and phone calls.
Step 4 — Inventory the property (before anything moves)
Before any belongings leave the property, do a room-by-room inventory. Photograph everything. This matters for two reasons: it protects the executor from later disputes with beneficiaries about "what was in the house", and it provides a record for any insurance or valuation purposes. A phone camera does the job. Include drawers, wardrobes, garage, shed, and any storage areas.
Anything obviously valuable — jewellery, artwork, antiques, collectibles — photograph individually and store securely. If in doubt about value, get a professional appraisal before it goes anywhere.
Step 5 — Sort belongings into four categories
The universal framework used by professional deceased estate services (and family members clearing on their own) is a four-way sort: keep (sentimental items, items beneficiaries want, items of value to be distributed by will), sell (valuable items suitable for auction, private sale, or online marketplaces), donate (usable furniture and belongings suitable for charity), and dispose (damaged, broken, or unsuitable items for rubbish removal).
Work room by room. Start with easier, less emotionally loaded areas — the garage, the shed, the laundry, the pantry. Save bedrooms and personal effects for later, when you're into the rhythm.
Step 6 — Involve beneficiaries and family before anything is disposed of
One of the most common regrets after a deceased estate clearance is having disposed of something a family member later realised was meaningful. Send photographs of items to siblings, adult children, or beneficiaries before decisions are finalised. Give them time to say yes or no. If beneficiaries live interstate or overseas, coordinate a specific visit or video walkthrough of the property before final decisions are made.
If items are in dispute — two beneficiaries both want the piano — the executor's job is to hold the item until the dispute is resolved, not to force a decision under time pressure. Storage buys that time.
Step 7 — Deal with high-value or specialised items
For anything potentially valuable — antiques, artwork, jewellery, collectibles, vintage furniture, silverware, coins, stamps, older books — get a professional valuation before selling or donating. Reputable auction houses like Leonard Joel (Melbourne), Bonhams (Sydney, Melbourne), Shapiro Auctioneers (Sydney), Mossgreen (Melbourne, Sydney) all offer free valuations for potential auction consignment. Estate specialist valuers can also visit the property and provide written valuations for insurance or IRS/probate purposes.
Step 8 — Organise removal and disposal
Once decisions are made, physical removal is the last practical step. A proper removalist (rather than just a rubbish-removal service) matters if valuables, sentimental items or belongings destined for beneficiaries are being handled. Charity donations can often be arranged as free pickups if the volume is sufficient — Vinnies, Salvos, Sacred Heart Mission, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Anglicare all do deceased estate pickups. General rubbish goes to landfill via a rubbish removal company or skip bin. Recyclables go to appropriate facilities.
For families who need the property emptied quickly but haven't made all the decisions, the removal-plus-storage combination lets you empty the house in a day and finalise decisions over weeks or months.
Step 9 — Property clean and handover
Once empty, the property needs a thorough clean before it can be sold, handed back to a landlord, or transferred to a beneficiary. For rental properties, this is usually mandatory under the tenancy agreement. For sale properties, a professional clean makes a significant difference to first impressions and sale price. Deceased estate professionals often offer end-of-lease-standard cleaning as part of the same service.
How long the whole process usually takes
Legal administration (probate, notifications, financial account transfers): typically 3-6 months, sometimes longer for complex estates. Physical clearance of the property: usually 1-3 days for the clearance work itself, plus 2-6 weeks or more if you're sorting at your own pace with storage. Total end-to-end: expect 4-9 months for most estates. Contested estates or those with substantial assets can take 12+ months.
When to use a professional deceased estate service
Professional deceased estate clearance makes sense when: the property has substantial belongings and the clearance work would take longer than the family can commit; family members are spread across states or overseas; the executor doesn't live locally to the property; there are valuables or sentimental items where careful handling matters; the property has to be cleared urgently for sale or lease handover; or when the emotional weight of clearing a family home is more than the family wants to take on alone.
Where storage is included — the removal-and-storage combination — the timeline changes entirely. The property gets emptied in a day, and decisions get made at the family's pace over weeks or months. This is worth considering if any of the above situations apply.
