A home is usually the largest single asset in an estate, and unlike almost everything else in probate, it doesn't wait quietly while paperwork moves. The mortgage is still due monthly. The insurance can lapse. An empty house deteriorates faster than an occupied one.
What's included in real estate coordination
- Securing the property in the first 24 hours: locks, a photo inventory, making sure nothing is removed before legal authority is established
- Notifying the mortgage servicer and keeping payments current
- Keeping homeowner's insurance active on a property that may now be vacant
- Coordinating ongoing maintenance so the property doesn't deteriorate during probate
- Facilitating the sell-or-keep conversation with a licensed real estate agent when the family is ready
Real estate agents are listed in a neutral directory. Otherside doesn't take a commission on the sale and doesn't push you toward one agent over another — you work with, and pay, whichever agent you choose directly.
Common mistakes families make handling this alone
- Letting homeowner's insurance lapse. Many standard policies have vacancy clauses that reduce or void coverage after a property sits empty for a set period — often 30 to 60 days — which most families never think to check until it's too late.
- Missing a mortgage payment during the confusion of the first weeks. A missed payment can trigger fees or, eventually, foreclosure proceedings, regardless of how much equity is in the home.
- Deciding to sell before legal authority is confirmed. A property generally can't be listed or sold until an executor or administrator has been formally authorized — jumping ahead wastes a realtor's time and the family's.
- Not budgeting for ongoing utilities and upkeep. A vacant home still needs heat in winter (to prevent pipes freezing) and basic upkeep, and those costs are easy to forget while everything else is happening at once.
How the process works
- Secure it immediately. In the first 24 hours, the property gets locked down and inventoried before anything is decided about its future.
- Keep it protected. The mortgage servicer and insurer are notified and tracked so neither lapses while probate runs its course — typically weeks two through six, in parallel with the rest of estate administration.
- Maintain it. Basic upkeep is coordinated so the property doesn't lose value from neglect.
- Decide, when ready. Once the family has the bandwidth, the sell-or-keep conversation happens with a licensed agent — on the family's timeline, not a forced one.
Pricing and how billing works
This is a directory category, not a billed one. Otherside doesn't take a commission and doesn't push you toward any one provider — options are presented neutrally, with transparent pricing, and you work with and pay whichever provider you choose directly. There's no card-on-file charge from Otherside for this category; the fee structure is between you and the professional you select.
Vendor vetting and trust
End-of-life coordination means letting someone into a family's home and finances at the worst possible time to be careless about who that is. Every vendor goes through the same onboarding before they're allowed to work with a family: a background check through a third-party screening platform (typically clears in two to five business days), a certificate of insurance naming Otherside Life as an additional insured, a government-issued ID, and a signed vendor agreement. Annual re-verification keeps that current. None of this guarantees a particular outcome on a particular job — no background check does — but nobody gets listed without going through it first.
What a coordinator does, and doesn't do
A coordinator sources the vendor, briefs them on what the family needs, tracks the job to completion, and handles the billing and paperwork around it. They don't do the physical or licensed work themselves, and they don't tell you which option to pick, interpret documents or law, or step into a family dispute over how something should be handled. The people actually doing the work — the florist, the attorney, the crew — are independent professionals working under their own license, not Otherside employees.
For a starting list of real, currently-operating probate agents in the LA area, see Probate Real Estate Agents in the Los Angeles Area.
Getting started
See the Real Estate coordination page for pricing tier context and to start a case, or talk to an account coordinator directly about your specific situation.