Confirm authority
Know who can approve access, property decisions, belongings movement, spending, provider work, and sale-related steps before work begins.
Situation guide
Single Decision-Maker Inherited Home Help
If everyone is looking to you, we help turn the house, belongings, costs, and next decision into a clear first plan.
Simpler authority still needs a real process
Being the only clear decision maker can help. It can reduce family meetings, repeated approvals, and confusion about who can say yes. But it does not remove the real work: property access, belongings, bills, repairs, records, provider calls, storage, shipping, and timing.
This situation is often the best fit for a fast, low-friction first step. We help you understand the estate math, choose the first bottleneck, and avoid spending money in the wrong order.
Protect first
The first useful moves
Map the whole house
Use the local Estate Math Home Visit to document the home, belongings, bills, repair risks, and likely provider needs.
Choose the first bottleneck
Decide whether the first scope should stabilize the property, inventory belongings, coordinate providers, or prepare the home for the next decision.
Where Legacy fits
What we can help organize
Turn the house, belongings, bills, provider needs, and next options into an Estate Math Snapshot.
Reduce family-coordination drag when one authorized person can approve the work.
Create item, provider, photo, receipt, and project records for the executor's file.
Look for practical ways to phase work so the estate does not spend big before the math is clear.
What to be careful about
- Assuming one decision maker means the project is simple.
- Starting cleanout before documents, photos, titles, sentimental items, and possible saleable assets are protected.
- Paying providers before there is a written scope, budget, and record plan.
- Losing receipts, invoices, and item decisions that the executor may need later.
Cost factors Mike would ask about
When one person can make decisions, the project can often move faster. The discount below applies only to eligible Legacy Defenders fees, not pass-through costs or third-party professionals.
| Cost category | How it is scoped | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Free strategy + review | After the first strategy clarifies condition, access, volume, urgency, authority, and approved scope. | Free strategy report and short call to understand authority, urgency, location, belongings, cash pressure, and whether a home visit makes sense. |
| Estate Math Home Visit | After the first strategy clarifies condition, access, volume, urgency, authority, and approved scope. | Walkthrough of the property, belongings, obvious risks, provider needs, and first budget categories. Credited toward approved Legacy Defenders services for the same property. |
| Detailed estate management scope | After the first strategy clarifies condition, access, volume, urgency, authority, and approved scope. | Written phase plan, provider needs, budget categories, item workflow, records plan, and questions for attorney, CPA, realtor, lender, or trades. |
| Single decision-maker discount | After the first strategy clarifies condition, access, volume, urgency, authority, and approved scope. | Example policy for clear authorized decision makers with no active dispute. Excludes pass-through costs, storage, disposal, materials, shipping, taxes, filing, trades, financing, attorney, CPA, lender, and realtor fees. |
| First coordination sprint | After the first strategy clarifies condition, access, volume, urgency, authority, and approved scope. | For homes where belongings, basic records, item routing, cleaning readiness, and provider sequencing are blocking the next estate decision. |
The first strategy is free. Approved scopes are discussed after the situation is clear and depend on condition, access, volume, urgency, provider availability, authority, and what the estate actually approves.
Timeline and records you can keep
A practical timeline
Confirm who can authorize access and spending, secure the property, photograph rooms, and avoid throwing away mixed boxes or papers.
Complete the home visit, list bills and urgent risks, identify the first bottleneck, and decide what can be done by family versus scoped help.
Start approved inventory, property stabilization, provider coordination, or market-ready planning with receipts and photos organized from day one.
Records you can keep and share
Estate Math Snapshot
A practical one-page view of risks, costs, belongings, provider needs, timing, and next decisions.
Belongings and item notes
Photos, QR tags where needed, keep/sell/donate/discard/store/ship decisions, and family routing notes.
Executor-ready packet
Scopes, receipts, invoices, photos, provider notes, budget categories, and open questions for professional review.
References and related pages
Official references to check
- Allegheny County Probate Fees - Check current filing and administration fee schedules.
- Allegheny County Real Estate Portal - Look up public property assessment and tax-related property information.
Useful pages for this situation
First safe step
Talk to Keith, then call us when a person should help.
The first strategy helps decide what you can do yourself, what should wait, and where local help or professional review may actually be worth it.