How to Secure Deceased Property: An Executor's First Priority

Within hours of someone's death, their property becomes vulnerable. The house sits empty. Mail piles up. Obituaries — effectively public announcements that a home is unoccupied — get published online. And everyone from well-meaning relatives to opportunistic strangers may feel entitled to walk in and take things.

Securing the deceased's property is an urgent early task, often before probate is underway. Formal authority to administer the estate comes from the court's grant; before then, limit yourself to reasonable preservation steps and check local rules when access rights are disputed. Failing to take reasonable steps to protect property can expose you to a personal-liability claim.

The First 48 Hours

Change the locks. If the deceased lived alone and multiple people had keys, consider changing the locks if the home is unoccupied and no one else has a legal right to live there. Before formal appointment, check local rules before changing locks if someone else has a right to enter. Keep old keys and document the reason and expense.

Secure valuable items. Walk through the property and identify anything portable and valuable: jewelry, cash, firearms, collectibles, electronics. Photograph items in place and secure them there if possible. If an item must be moved, record its condition and location, keep it separate from personal property, and document who has custody of it.

Check all entry points. Verify that windows lock, garage doors close, and any secondary entrances (basement doors, sliding doors) are secured. If the property has a security system, contact the provider to transfer billing to the estate and get the access codes.

Redirect mail. File a change of address with the postal service to forward mail to your address or a PO box. Uncollected mail signals an empty home, and it also contains financial statements, bills, and account information you'll need for the estate.

The First Week

Maintain the property. Turn off appliances you don't need but keep the HVAC running — a burst pipe or mold outbreak in an unsecured property can cause tens of thousands of dollars in damage. In winter, maintain minimum heat; in summer, don't turn off air conditioning entirely if the home has wood floors or sensitive contents.

Arrange for yard and exterior maintenance. An overgrown lawn or piled-up newspapers broadcast that nobody is home. If the deceased had a lawn service, keep it running and transfer billing to the estate.

Handle pets and perishables. Remove all perishable food. If there are pets, arrange care immediately — either with family, the deceased's designated caretaker, or a temporary boarding facility. Document any pet care expenses as estate costs.

Notify the insurance company. Contact the deceased's home insurer promptly to report the death and ask how vacancy or unoccupied-home provisions affect coverage and what steps are required. Ask whether a vacancy endorsement or separate vacant-property policy is needed if the home will sit empty during probate.

Vehicles and Watercraft

Park all vehicles in a garage or secured area. If there's no garage, consider a steering wheel lock. Remove any valuables left in the car.

Notify the auto insurer of the death and ask whether coverage remains active and what is required before the executor or anyone else drives the vehicle. Do not assume the existing policy covers use during estate administration.

Digital Property

Digital accounts are a growing area of vulnerability. In the first week:

• Email accounts — do not log in just because you have the credentials. Follow the provider's deceased-user process and confirm your legal authority before seeking account access. Scammers actively target deceased people's email accounts for identity theft.
• Social media — request memorialization or deactivation of accounts. Facebook, Instagram, and most platforms have a process for this. Leaving accounts active invites impersonation.
• Financial accounts — report the death to each bank and investment firm and ask how to prevent unauthorized transactions. Ownership and beneficiary designations affect who can act; ask what authority and documents each institution requires.
• Subscription services — cancel recurring charges to stop the estate from bleeding money on unused services.

Nearly 2.5 million deceased estates are targeted by identity theft annually. The deceased's Social Security number, credit cards, and online accounts are all vulnerable until you lock them down.

What You Can and Can't Do Before Probate

A common source of confusion: do you have authority to do any of this before the court formally appoints you?

The court's grant proves a personal representative's authority to act for the estate. Before formal appointment, limit your actions to immediate preservation, such as securing an unoccupied property, and check local rules before taking steps that could affect another person's access or rights.

What to avoid before the court appoints you:

• Sell property or transfer titles
• Distribute assets to beneficiaries
• Access or change estate bank accounts without authority
• Make non-emergency expenditures

These actions cross from "preservation" into "administration" and generally require formal authority. In some jurisdictions, taking them prematurely can constitute intermeddling and affect your ability to step down or renounce the appointment.

Documenting Everything

Every action you take to secure property should be documented: dated photos, receipts for lock changes or repairs, a log of who had keys, communications with insurers and service providers. This documentation feeds into the estate's final accounting and protects you if anyone later questions how the property was handled.

The How to Read and Execute a Will toolkit includes a property security checklist covering the first 48 hours through the first month, along with the full executor roadmap from securing property through final distribution.