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Estates and Long Vacancies

When an owner dies or moves into care, the house often sits empty while the estate is settled, the family decides what to do and repairs get done. The Census Bureau includes homes “held for settlement of an estate” in its “other vacant” category. During those months the house is empty, often with furniture and belongings still inside, and the people responsible may live hours away.

How long it can take

It depends on the state. In Kentucky, for example, the court system’s probate guide says the final settlement can’t be filed until at least six months after the personal representative is appointed, an inventory is due within 60 days, and an estate open more than two years may need a periodic settlement. University of Kentucky Extension notes that a simple estate can be settled in as little as six months. Kentucky’s court guide also says the personal representative (the executor) takes over the estate’s assets and must manage and protect them. Check the rules in the state where the property is.

Keep the insurance in place

  • Progressive notes that a homeowners policy doesn’t cancel automatically when the policyholder dies, that the insurer should be told quickly, and that, if there is no surviving spouse, the estate’s executor is responsible for the policy and must keep paying the premium.
  • The Insurance Information Institute says many policies limit or exclude coverage once a property is unoccupied, typically for 30 to 60 consecutive days, and that insurers offer vacant-home policies and vacancy endorsements. Its example is an heir living several states away whose inherited house had a burst pipe after more than 60 days without a visit.

An example

This is an illustration, not a customer story.

Two siblings inherit their parents’ house. One lives across town, the other three states away. The house will stay empty for most of a year while the estate is settled and the house is cleaned out and repaired for sale.

  1. First week. The sibling who is appointed personal representative calls the insurer, forwards the mail, photographs every room and gathers every key the family has given out over the years.
  2. The front door. After confirming the house is empty, they put an InvinciBolt Lock on the front door, the one visible from the street, and lock it from outside. The other doors keep hardware that opens from inside.
  3. Through the winter. With the heat left on (the Red Cross says no lower than 55°F), the local sibling visits on a schedule, checks for leaks and keeps the yard and walk clear.
  4. Cleanout and repairs. Family members, the estate-sale company and contractors pass one logged key between them through a lockbox. Whoever arrives first unlocks the InvinciBolt Lock and keeps the key while anyone is inside; the last person out walks the house to make sure it is empty, relocks it and returns the key.
  5. Sale. Before the buyer takes possession, the lock comes off, the frame is patched and the original deadbolt goes back in.

A short list for executors and families

Sources

Company

Invincibolt Locks LLC designed and sells the InvinciBolt Lock, a lock that mounts outside the entry door of an empty building. We are based in Louisville, Kentucky, and ship by UPS to addresses in the United States.

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