sorry for your loss. mom & dad mean a lot.
if there are any "collections" get with an knowledgable authority so you don't end up selling that one-of-a-kind rare item for pennies.
also if you don't "do it as a family" you are gonna wind up with someone feeling taken advantage of ("i had to do all the work") and with someone feeling upset ("i only wanted that one thing, and you sold it").
whereas someone that isn't a family member will give you a more honest evaluation of what the stuff is worth, some things would go better on ebay because of the limit in who would want a 1927 plate set with purple flowers. be prepared if you do an estate sale a lot of stuff may be sold for less than expected-most have an "everything must go" rule, and they charge a lot of money for the priveledge of using their service.
question: if they were in debt, did they have lien against some of it? (mom said the state could have the house in exchange for paying for her long term medical bills).

So very sad for you. To lose both parents in such a short time must be devastating. Please find time to grieve & remember the good times.

Re: Estate sales. Agree w/moosezilla - unless your 'family' is really, really close problems will arise. I used an estate sale pro to downsize a few of my own possessions a year ago. I knew him years ago, so I was pretty confident that what he said was true. He 'guessed' on a lot of items, and was pretty close on the final sale prices. If any antiques are involved be aware that the market has tanked. I did pretty good, but it was mostly newer quality furniture/art that brought the most money. Odd to me. Bottom line: You will not get anywhere near what you think you will. Bad economy.

2 other thoughts: 1) If your parents were in debt when they died, you & your family are most likely not responsible for those debts. 2) Let each family member select at least 1 item that they want that will not be sold.

Best wishes to you and yours.

First, I am so terribly sorry for your loss. It's never easy, and you have the additional burden of settling the financial side as well.

I have a lot of experience with this, although almost all of it is on the buying end. I know many of the local professionals. There are people that handle everything from homes where most things are just priced in place, and sold off in a few days, to large auctions that have online bidding (as well as in person), and have professionals who do research on the more valuable items so as to know where they should be priced, and what the potential is for their final price.

What area of the country are you in?

Are you in a large metropolitan area?

Do you have an idea of the current value of any of the higher end items?

Before you get caught up in this, you should set aside certain items that you or other members of the family will regret losing, later on.

I'll be back once you've answered my current questions.

@aksman44: Try this link for an example of online estate sales.

https://www.proxibid.com/asp/estate-auctions.asp

Man, I almost got in trouble with that. I love auctions. Many of the auctions in that list are businesses, but others are true estates. I bid on some of the auctions via proxybid.

@shrdlu

We live in LA County, CA. We have checked on some of the antique items via Google to see if there is a market value. I am sure that many things will appeal to people who are looking for household items, but I do not think there are any hidden gems (except to us which we will keep). We would just like to get past this part of the process.

So sorry you're having to deal with type of situation. It is very hard. We went through this 2 years ago. My family did the estate sale ourselves. If you choose to go that route, call an antique appraiser in. They usually charge $75-200 an hour. It usually doesn't take very long. Organize and price everything. Make sure you have all small items in one room with someone there the whole time. Make people pay for those items there. There should be someone for every one or two rooms. People will steal what they can. Have one check out spot in the garage or an exit. It is hard and a lot of work.

If you go with an estate sale company, there are a number who are nationwide. Caring Transitions comes to mind. Local companies are usually licensed, bonded and have an appraiser on staff. They usually charge 25 to 30% of the sale total. They set up, organize, price, advertise and run the sale. They also will dispose of leftovers. Good luck and I hope all goes well.

@klutzyruth

Very good real life advice.