How do I get into a house after the owner died?

The short answer

Get access through someone with authority over the house: the personal representative of the estate, the heir who now owns it, or the loan servicer if the lender changed the locks. Don't break in, even if it's your family's house.

If the bank changed the locks

When a house with a mortgage sits empty, the lender's inspectors often change the locks and winterize it to protect it. Call the loan servicer, tell them the borrower died and you're an heir, and ask to be confirmed as a successor in interest. Then ask how to get access. Our resources page has a letter you can send.

If a relative has the keys

Being family doesn't by itself give anyone the right to keep others out, or to let themselves in. Who can decide depends on who owns the house now and whether an estate is open. If there's a personal representative, that person controls access. If not, a probate attorney can tell you who does and how to get authority. That's often the step that unblocks everything else.

Why the police won't let you in

Officers can't tell who's entitled to a house, so without paperwork showing your authority they usually won't help you get in. Letters of administration from the probate court, or a recorded deed or affidavit in your name, are what change that.

While it's sitting empty

An empty house collects problems: break-ins, frozen pipes, a city board-up bill. Many insurance policies limit coverage once a house is vacant, so call the insurer. If keepsakes are inside, tell whoever has authority early so they can be taken out before anything else happens to the house.

Our inherited house page covers ownership, several heirs and probate in more detail.