Selling your parents’ house starts with one question: Who has the legal authority to sell it? If your parents still own the property and can make their own decisions, they generally control the sale. If a parent has died, the answer depends on the deed, the will, any trust, and state probate rules. Being the adult child, paying the utility bills, or holding a spare set of keys does not automatically give you the right to sell.
Locate the deed, mortgage statements, property tax bills, homeowners insurance information, and estate documents. If your parent has died, contact the estate’s executor or personal representative to confirm who can sign the closing documents. A trust may allow a successor trustee to handle the transaction without the same probate process, depending on the circumstances.
