Serving University Park and Nearby DFW

Before anyone hires a shredder, we split the paper three ways: records the estate needs, paper with a market of its own, and true waste. Deeds, titles, insurance policies, stock certificates, tax files and anything naming an account go in a box for whoever is administering the estate. How long to keep them is a question for that person's attorney or accountant.

Then we walk the rest of the house. The silver in the sideboard, the jewelry in the dressing table, the paintings and the porcelain. We buy outright, place standout pieces in private auction, or use both, and the family picks.

Paper that sells

• Signed and first-edition books, and complete sets in good condition.
• Autographs, manuscripts and letters from known correspondents.
• Maps, prints, posters and original works on paper.
• Stamp collections and postal covers kept in albums.
• Paper money and certificates kept for their own sake.
• Photographs and negatives of known people, places or events.

Keep collections in order

Albums, runs and filed collections stay together until we review them. Order and completeness carry information and affect price. Pulling the best stamps out of an album lowers what the album brings.

Empty the furniture before deciding on it

Desks, secretaries and cabinets get cleared and recorded first. Then we decide about the piece itself: purchase, auction, donation or removal.

Where the standout pieces usually hide

Here is why we open everything. Studs and cufflinks sit in a dresser tray. A Georgian silver caddy is wrapped in newspaper in a hall closet. A signed print leans behind a bookcase. We find them, list them, and show you whether each one belongs in a purchase or in front of auction bidders.

Last step: the city's sale listings

If the family chooses a public sale, University Park lets residents advertise garage and estate sales through its listing process. The city expressly prohibits commercial ventures from using that page, so confirm whether a listing qualifies when a company is involved. The listing alone does not settle whether a permit or other permission is required.