What to Do With a House After a Parent Dies
How to secure, insure, and transfer a parent’s home after death — and how probate affects real estate.
Want this tracked alongside everything else you need to do?
A home is often the largest and most emotional asset. Before deciding to keep, sell, or transfer it, your job is to secure and insure it — then sort out how title passes.
Step by step
- 1Secure the home. Lock up, collect mail, set timers or check on it regularly, and keep valuables safe. An empty house is a target.
- 2Tell the homeowner’s insurer. Vacant homes can lose coverage. Notify the insurer so a claim isn’t denied if something happens.
- 3Determine how title transfers. A transfer-on-death deed, joint ownership, or a trust may pass the home outside probate. Otherwise it moves through the estate.
- 4Keep paying the essentials. Mortgage, property taxes, and insurance generally still need to be paid from estate funds to protect the asset.
Common questions
Can we sell the house right away?
Usually not until someone has legal authority (executor or administrator) and title is clear. A probate professional or real estate attorney can confirm the path in your state.
Official sources
Related guides
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and thresholds vary by state and change over time — verify specifics with the official sources above or a licensed professional.