You do not have to keep every old photograph or remove every electronic device before an estate sale. Start with what you want to keep. Estate Greats sells vintage and antique photographs, and we sell devices too. We can set aside anything that looks too personal for you to review.
If you are handling a loved one’s estate, the executor’s estate sale guide covers the sale process. Here is how to handle belongings that may contain personal information or family memories.
Choose the photographs your family wants
If there are portraits, albums, or particular pictures you want to keep, let us know. Agree with relatives on who will receive them and when they will collect them. You can use the family decisions worksheet to keep those choices together.
Vintage and antique photographs the family does not want can be considered for sale with the other contents.
Tell us about anything you consider private or do not want offered for sale. Our team can also put aside photographs or other material that looks too personal, giving you a chance to review it. Record anything you want excluded on the keep list.
Point out personal papers you already know about
Identify important documents and any folders or drawers that should stay with the family. Let us know where known personal material is located and who should receive anything set aside during preparation.
Identification, financial correspondence, and records needed to settle the estate should be kept for the appropriate person to review. Ask your legal or tax adviser about retention requirements before discarding those records.
Devices can be part of the sale
Computers, tablets, phones, and other devices can be sold through Estate Greats. If you want to include one, save the information you need and wipe your personal data before the sale. If you prefer to keep it, need more time, or are unsure about the information on it, put it aside and tell us it is excluded.
For a computer you own or are authorized to manage, the Federal Trade Commission explains how to back up needed files and erase the drive before passing it on. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the particular device; deleting a few files or moving them to the trash is not the same as wiping the device.
When the device belonged to a relative, confirm that you are authorized to manage it and that any needed information has been preserved. Set it aside while those questions are unresolved.
Keep the right accessories together
Keep ordinary equipment remotes, chargers, and furniture keys with their sale items where possible. Property keys, garage or gate remotes, and security access instructions are different: those belong in the agreed property-access plan.
When you need a value for something you are keeping
If you need a value for a retained collection or for dividing belongings among family members, ask about our personal property appraisal options. Explain what the valuation is for so we can discuss the appropriate service and fee.
Agree on a place for anything set aside
Choose a secure location with the team for retained belongings and material awaiting your review. Name the person we should contact about it. Tell relatives where those items will be kept so they are not put back among the sale contents.
Tell Estate Greats what you are sorting through. We can discuss which belongings you want kept, sold or set aside for another decision.
More resources for handling a loved one’s estate.