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Nothing should leave the house until the contents have been professionally valued. This step by step guide takes executors from securing the property and the Section 160 valuation through to auction and, only at the end, clearance.
When a family member dies, the contents of their home become the executor's responsibility, and deciding what happens to the furniture, jewellery, pictures and personal effects is often the most daunting part of administering the estate. Handled in the right order, it is a manageable process. This guide sets out the steps as we walk executors through them every week.
Before anything else, make sure the property is locked, the insurers are told the house is unoccupied, and any obviously valuable or portable items, jewellery in particular, are noted and kept safe. Most household policies lapse or restrict cover once a property stands empty, so this call matters more than it seems.
The most expensive mistakes we see happen in the first fortnight, when well-meaning relatives clear cupboards, take carloads to charity, or invite a house clearance firm in before anyone qualified has looked at the contents. Jewellery boxes, coin collections, silver in sideboards and pictures in spare rooms are precisely the things that get lost this way. Nothing should leave the house until the contents have been professionally assessed.
HMRC requires estate assets to be valued at open market value as at the date of death, under Section 160 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984. A professional probate valuation covers the household contents room by room, with items of value assessed individually, and produces a written report for the inheritance tax account. You do not need the grant of probate to arrange this, in fact the valuation comes first, because its figures feed the tax account that precedes the grant. Our guide to what a probate valuation costs explains fees and what is included.
The valuation figures go to your solicitor or into the inheritance tax forms, tax is calculated, and the application for the grant proceeds. Inheritance tax falls due six months after the end of the month of death, after which interest runs, so it pays to have accurate figures early rather than estimates that need revisiting.
Once the position is clear, the family can decide which items are kept or pass to beneficiaries under the will, and which are to be sold. Where items are sold, executors have a duty to achieve a proper price and to account for it, which is why solicitors so often direct estate contents to auction, every sale produces a catalogue entry, a hammer price and a settlement statement that can be shown to beneficiaries and to HMRC.
An auction house that has already valued the contents can carry the same items through to sale with no duplication of effort. At Aubreys, items are collected, catalogued, photographed and offered in the appropriate specialist sale, with every auction streamed live to bidders worldwide. Where there is a will, items can be prepared for sale, and in many cases sold, before the grant is issued, which our guide to selling items before probate covers in more detail.
Only once everything of value has been identified, and family items removed, should a clearance firm deal with what remains. Doing it in this order means the clearance is cheaper, because there is less to move, and nothing of value goes into a skip.
We provide the whole sequence from a single firm, a fixed-fee Section 160 valuation, a written report for HMRC, and sale at auction when the executors are ready, across Surrey, London and the South East. Our probate specialist can be reached directly on 07939 133427 for an initial conversation without obligation, or see our probate valuations in Surrey and probate valuations in London.
Yes, as long as there is a will. An executor's authority comes from the will itself, and the grant confirms it rather than creates it, so contents can be valued, catalogued and sold before the grant is issued, with the proceeds accounted to the estate. Where there is no will, an administrator's authority comes from the grant of letters of administration, so a sale should wait until it is issued. If in doubt, ask your solicitor about the position in your estate.
Ordinary household effects are usually covered by a modest global figure within the report. The individual attention goes to jewellery, watches, silver, pictures, coins and collections, which is where value hides.
They still form part of the estate for inheritance tax and should be included in the valuation, even though they will not be sold.
Usually within days. A home visit is arranged at a convenient time and the written report follows shortly afterwards.
Free, confidential advice from our valuation team, with home visits across Surrey and London.
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