Florissant, Missouri
Named executor for a Florissant estate? Here's the first week.
Florissant probate runs through St. Louis County in Clayton, but the first-week questions are the same ones every out-of-town executor has. Is the house secure? What actually needs to happen this week?
This is a practical first-week checklist for securing a Florissant estate property while St. Louis County probate gets underway — before any cleanout decision needs to be made.
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What to do in the first 7 days
- Confirm you have (or have filed for) Letters Testamentary from the 21st Judicial Circuit, Probate Division in Clayton, which handles St. Louis County probate matters including Florissant — until the court issues them, you have no legal authority to act, even as the named executor.
- Secure the house — change or re-key the locks if other family members or a caretaker had keys, confirm homeowners insurance is still active, and stop mail/newspaper delivery so the house doesn't visibly sit empty.
- Arrange for someone local to check on the property regularly if you're not local yourself — Florissant's older, established neighborhoods mean a house sitting empty can draw attention, and insurers sometimes have vacancy clauses that matter here.
- Locate the will, any trust documents, and financial paperwork before anything else is touched — sorting the house can wait a few days; losing track of estate paperwork cannot be undone.
- Do not distribute, sell, or discard anything of value yet — even with good intentions, moving estate property before probate is underway can create real legal exposure for the executor.
None of this requires you to be in Florissant in person. Most out-of-state executors handle the first week by phone and email — confirming legal authority, lining up someone local to check the property, and holding off on cleanout until a plan is set. The house sitting unattended for a few weeks while probate opens is normal and manageable; the goal of this checklist is simply making sure it's secure and insured while that happens.
Once probate is underway and you know the timeline you're working with, the next planning step is knowing what has to happen to the property before it can be listed or transferred — our free probate property prep timeline walks through Missouri probate steps side by side with the property milestones that line up with each one.
Questions we get from Florissant-area executors
Where does probate for a Florissant estate get filed?
Florissant is in St. Louis County, so probate for a Florissant estate is heard at the 21st Judicial Circuit, Probate Division in Clayton — the county seat courthouse, not a separate Florissant court.
I live out of state. Who watches the house while I'm not there?
Most families lean on a nearby relative, a trusted neighbor, or a property-check service for the first few weeks, and hold off on any cleanout work until Letters Testamentary are in hand and a plan is set. Heritage matches families with vetted local providers who can move quickly once you're ready — you're not on the clock to start day one.
Do I need to start clearing out the house right away?
No. The first week is about securing the property and confirming your legal authority to act, not sorting belongings. Cleanout timing depends on the probate schedule and the family's wishes — there's no requirement to rush it.
Keep reading
Estate Cleanout Services
How estate cleanout matching works once the house is ready to be sorted.
Executor checklist for Greater St. Louis
The full metro-wide version of this first-week checklist.
Probate Property Prep Timeline
Free printable guide to Missouri and Illinois probate steps and property milestones.
The Full 30-Day Version
This week's checklist, carried all the way through the first month — documents, inventory, siblings, and when the clear out can start.
Once you're ready to sort the house, we'll take it from there.
One short form connects you with a vetted local provider serving Florissant. Free to families — usually the same day.
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