If you found this page by searching something like “what do I do now,” you’re not alone, even if it doesn’t feel that way tonight. Losing a parent is disorienting enough on its own. Add a house, a mortgage statement, a stack of mail, and a hundred small decisions nobody prepared you for, and it’s easy to feel like you’re supposed to have a plan you simply don’t have. You don’t need one yet. The first 30 days aren’t about deciding what happens to the house long term. They’re about a short list of practical steps that protect the property and buy you time to think clearly later, when you’re not still in shock.

A calm checklist for the first month

None of this has to happen today, and it doesn’t have to happen in order. Think of it as a list you chip away at, not a deadline you’re racing against.

• Secure the house. Change or check the locks if you’re not sure who has keys, and make sure someone physically checks on the property regularly. An empty house that sits unattended for weeks is a real risk, for break-ins, weather damage, and problems that go unnoticed until they’re expensive.
• Look for the will. Check with your parent’s attorney if they had one, and look through home files, a safe deposit box, or a desk drawer. Knowing whether a will exists shapes a lot of what comes next.
• Order more certified copies of the death certificate than you think you’ll need. Ten to fifteen is a realistic starting point. Banks, insurance companies, the title company, and other institutions will each want their own original copy, and it adds up fast.
• Notify the mortgage company and the homeowners insurance company that the owner has passed away. This one is easy to overlook and it matters. Some homeowner policies can lapse or become invalid once a house sits vacant without the carrier being told, which leaves the property uninsured at exactly the wrong time.
• Keep the mortgage, property taxes, and insurance paid if there’s cash available from the estate or from a family member willing to cover it short term. Falling behind here creates a second problem on top of the one you’re already dealing with.
• Start looking for a probate attorney if the estate is likely to go through probate, which is true for most estates that include a house. You don’t have to hire anyone in week one, but getting a name and a consultation on the calendar early saves time later.
• Hold off on big decisions about the house itself. Selling, renting, or moving in are all things you can think through once the immediate items above are handled and you have more information. There’s no rule that says you have to know the answer this month.

What this month is really about

It helps to separate two different jobs that get tangled together after a death. One is grieving your parent. The other is administrative, keeping the property safe and the paperwork moving. They are not the same job, and you’re allowed to be bad at the second one while you’re deep in the first. Most of what actually matters in the first 30 days is security and paperwork, not big decisions. The house isn’t going anywhere. It can sit, locked and insured, while you figure out the rest.

What applies to your specific situation depends on your documents and Texas law, talk to a probate attorney or a free HUD-approved housing counselor. They can tell you whether the estate needs to go through probate, what authority you have to act on the house’s behalf, and what timelines actually apply to you, none of which is something a general checklist can answer.

One small piece of good news worth knowing, without getting into the weeds of it here: Texas doesn’t have a state inheritance tax, and inherited property generally gets what’s called a stepped-up tax basis, which can meaningfully reduce capital gains if you sell later. It’s worth a quick conversation with a CPA or your attorney so you understand how it applies to your family’s situation, but it’s not something to worry about in the first 30 days.

When you’re ready to think about the house

At some point, probably not this month, you and your family will need to decide what to do with the house itself: keep it, rent it out, or sell it. When that time comes, Lone Star Home Offers is here, no pressure and no clock running. We buy houses across Texas as is, which can be one less thing to manage if the family decides selling makes the most sense, especially if the house needs repairs or nobody wants to take on fixing it up. But that’s a conversation for later. Right now, take care of the locks, the insurance call, and yourself. The rest can wait.

See more guides for selling an inherited house in Texas.

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