Real probate and estate stories, told in my own words
Every estate is different. These are real families I’ve worked with. I’ve kept last names out to protect their privacy.
David: “Thank you for being patient with me”
A man named David called me about 8 months after his mother passed away. She had lived in the same home in Campbell since the 1980s — a well-loved, slightly dated property full of decades of family history.
David told me he had been meaning to deal with it for months but kept putting it off. The home was full of his mother’s belongings, it needed some work, and every time he thought about it he felt a wave of grief that made it easier to just close the laptop and walk away.
We took it slow. I answered his questions over two or three calls before he ever asked about listing. By the time he was ready, he understood the process and felt confident in his decision. The house sold in 11 days. But what I remember most is a text he sent after closing: “Thank you for being patient with me.”
A widower facing foreclosure during probate
His wife had always taken care of everything — the bills, the paperwork, all of it. When she passed away, he was on his own. His children lived out of state. Because of how the house was held, it had to go through probate, and in the middle of all that he had memory lapses and forgot to pay the mortgage. By the time we met, he had a foreclosure notice.
I stopped the foreclosure and got him the time he needed. I reached out to his three grown children. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and one of them hadn’t been speaking to the other two. They all came to California anyway and packed up and cleaned out the house together.
We sold the house for more than he thought it would bring, paid off the loan and took care of all the paperwork. He moved to an area with a lower cost of living, bought a condo, and has one of his children nearby. He was so grateful, because he’d been lost and didn’t know what to do.
Three siblings and a rental gone wrong
Three siblings called me, all living out of state. Their parents had passed away more than five years earlier, and they’d been renting out the family home. They finally agreed it was time to sell.
When I went to see the house, the renters had destroyed it, and it was full of hoarded belongings. None of the three had any idea. When I sent them the pictures, they were in tears.
I coordinated all of it — the hauling, the cleaning, the donations, the estate sale, and the eviction. Fortunately, the family living there was willing to go. Everything was documented. Six weeks later the house was ready. The siblings didn’t want to put any more money into repairs, so we sold it as-is, and it sold quickly to an investor. Opening the family trust account took some work, but in the end the money was divided among all three. It took patience and the right people, and that’s what I bring to every estate.
You don’t have to do this alone
Estate real estate is almost never just about the house. That’s why I bring in and coordinate the whole team — attorneys, appraisers, crews, movers, the estate sale, repairs and escrow — so you don’t have to. You don’t need to have anything decided to call me.
Helen K. Burke, REALTOR® | Seller Specialist
Intero Real Estate Services | DRE #01175866
Call or text 408-835-8967 | helen@helenkburke.com