Projects

Succession of Private Estate

Location: Marksville, LA
Job duration: 13 months

This was a commitment spanning a period of just under 2-years. My services were enlisted to assist a family through a lengthy, complicated succession comprising 7 heirs working via a consensus-based decision making process.

Given the size of the estate and the long liquidation process, the work required multi-level organizational and interpersonal skills, as without the consensus of all seven heirs the process could not move forward. Despite challenging moments in the nearly 2-year process, the heirs were able to achieve their goals cohesively to resolve conflicts and complete the process.

Services Included:

• Oversee multimillion-dollar succession as representative for 7 heirs in all matters related to distribution/liquidation of financial and material assets in a consensus-based structure.
• Work with the estate lawyer and executors throughout the succession process via email, conference calls, and meetings.
• Mediate monthly conference calls with estate heirs, employing conflict resolution techniques to reach a consensus
• Coordinate with realtors on the sale of 3 residential properties and 1 lot, ensuring that all properties remain “show ready” through regular cleaning, lawn maintenance and repairs.
• Manage 3 estate-related bank accounts and provide monthly expense reports to all heirs in addition to providing CPA with relevant financial information for the timely filing of estate tax returns.
• Oversee the closure of investment accounts and the equal distribution of financial assets to all heirs.
• Create an on-line system for cataloguing all material assets.
• Work with an estate appraiser and mediate the subsequent distribution of assets using online conferencing and e-mail communication.
• Plan, organize and implement a 2-day estate sale.

Location: Harmony, NJ
Job duration: 8 days/64 hours

A couple with two children just recently out of the nest found themselves in a home encumbered by many years of raising a busy and active family. They wanted to start decluttering and refreshing their large, light-filled kitchen.

I found the kitchen in state of high clutter, having received minimal attention and only basic cleaning (dishes/countertops) for many years. My approach was to go deep into every area of the kitchen to remove outdated food and unused appliances, then clean every square inch of the cabinets and cupboards.

The first step involved reviewing all consumables to check for freshness, expiration, and usefulness. I kept only usable and relevant items. The rest I threw away or donated, making every attempt to avoid wasting good food. This triage allowed me to empty all the cabinets and cupboards in preparation for a serious deep cleaning.

I deep cleaned both the interior surfaces and the exterior wood finish, including harder to reach areas that had not been cleaned since the house was built 25 years earlier. I deep cleaned the stove, refrigerator, food processor, kitchen island, 2 small antique cupboards, all light fixtures, the windows and skylights.

Services Included:

• Sorting and removal of all unwanted items, which were then divided into two categories:
  • Items for donation to Lupus and local food bank
  • Outdated food items and outdated/damaged kitchen equipment for disposal.
• Deep cleaning of fridge, stove, kitchen appliances, cabinets/cupboards, walls, tiled areas, light fixtures and flooring.
• Reorganizing all food items, utensils, cookware, appliances, etc. in an orderly manner.

Location: Thibodaux, LA
Job duration: 13 days/108 hours

The client approached me about working on the small 3-bedroom home she’d recently inherited after her father’s passing. An artist, he’d occupied the property the past 25 years. The client had recently decided (with some trepidation) to move into the home with her family. As her father was an invalid during the last years of his life, the home slowly fell into a state of clutter and disorder. The owner spent his final year in a nursing home; the unoccupied house received minimal attention during this time.

As many of us know, there is perhaps nothing worse for a house than to have no one living in it, or attending its needs, for an extending period of time. As a result, the home became uninhabitable. The layers of furniture, boxes, and miscellany cluttering the rooms left little space to move around the house. The once orderly, charming atmosphere of the home had disappeared, leaving the client overwhelmed at the prospect of the sorting, boxing, emptying, cleaning and more that would be required to make it her own.

But hope was not gone. The solution lied in a step-by-step approach. I had to first remove – layer by layer – the extensive clutter, carefully discerning what value, if any, the items had and then handling them in one of three ways: trash, donation/sale, or keep. The ‘keepers’ were to remain in the home. This required that I first clear out a space where I could put them aside in order to distinguish them from the clutter I was busy processing. As the client lived far away, we agreed that I would text images whenever it was unclear whether to keep an object or not. This saved considerable time.

Once the clutter was removed, I began pulling up all carpet and vinyl flooring from the bedrooms. I then deep cleaned the entire house, paying particular attention to the kitchen, bathroom, laundry closet, and hard-to-reach areas such as A/C ceiling vents, light fixtures and ceiling fans.

The end result brought a sense of joy and enthusiasm from the client. She was presented with a clean, uncluttered environment, her concerns about the house as her future home having now disappeared.

Services Included:

• Removal of all unwanted items. Items divided into 3 categories:
  • Items for disposal resulting in 28 45lb contractor bags of rubbish.
  • Items for donation to local Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army and Public Library
• Items to keep for heir, consisting of family heirlooms, a collection of hand painted/designed paper dolls, a large collection of cookbooks, and family artworks. Process required high level of discernment and sensitivity to sentimental and financial values of certain items.
• Removal of carpet and linoleum flooring, including cleaning and prep of concrete surfaces underneath. Process requiring labor-intensive removal of linoleum underlay and glue sublayer.
• Organization of exterior tool room/storage area with systems put in place for arranging gardening tools, electrical supplies and work tools.
• Overall deep cleaning of home, including:
  • Removing heavy layers of grime on all kitchen cabinets and prepping for painting.
  • Stripping all shelf paper in cabinets and prepping for painting.
  • Dusting and cleaning all floorboards, door trims.
  • Cleaning interior windows and frames
  • Removing, soaking and cleaning all ceiling/wall air vents.

Location: Alexandria, LA
Duration: 10 days/90 hours

The client recently moved from a large 3-bedroom home into a modest 2-bedroom condo. In addition the surplus of boxes filling his new condo, he was renting a 10’ x 20’ storage space for additional belongings. He felt encumbered by the weight of his possessions, and overwhelmed by the state of the condo. Since the condo could hold only a third of his possessions , he decided to keep only those items appropriate for his new home. My job was to help him choose, unpack, arrange and display those items, and get rid of the rest.

Having agreed on a plan of attack, the client took one week off work to dedicate his time and energy to the task. Without his input, the job would have been a drawn-out, almost impossible process. A large part of my role was to walk through the process with him, lending support, guidance and suggestions as needed. I also handled as much of the physical work as possible, freeing the client to remain focused on deciding what to keep.

Working alongside the client is tremendously rewarding and can produce wonderful, often unexpected, results. As we progressed, I noticed a significant shift his level of joy and enthusiasm. He acknowledged feeling better physically and mentally and I could see him become lighter and more energized.

Services Included:

• Working with the client beforehand to establish goals
• Keeping the work progressing with the the client on track and in line with these goals.
• Setting up criteria for what to get rid of and trying to hold the client to those criteria when tough decisions had to be made.
• Removing of all unwanted items using following means:
  • Disposal via trash and recycling.
  • Donations to the local Goodwill Store.
  • Selling higher end items to a local resale shop.
  • Gifting to friends and family members.
• Assisting the client with unpacking boxes and the efficient processing of the contents.
• Lending a high level of ongoing support and encouragement to the client throughout all stages of the process.

Location: Ithica, NY
Job duration: 1 day/9 hours

The client required that an old trailer home be emptied out to be transformed into a horse barn. The job was clear and very straightforward. All the items to keep were previously put to one side, so all that was needed was for the remaining items to be divided into trash/recycling or donation to a local charity shop. The items to be thrown away/recycled fit into 16 45lb constructor bags while the items for donating amounted to about approximately 10 medium sized boxes. As I could carry out the job with the client being directly involved the worked moved along at a nice clip (I tend to work quickly anyway).

Services Included:

• Sorting and bagging all items for trash/recycling
• Sorting and boxing all items for donation.
• Cleaning and tidying the space items cleared away.