For referral partners
One contact for the whole property transition.
When a client's house is full and the file is waiting on it, hand the contents question to Heritage. We match the family with an independent, vetted provider on either side of the river, we tell you what we checked, and the work leaves your desk.
Heritage is a matching service, not a cleanout company. We do not perform the work, set the price, or promise the result of work we do not do. What we do is vet to a stated standard, make the introduction, and stay reachable.
Who this is for
Professionals whose file is waiting on a full house.
Probate & estate attorneys
You hold the file, the family holds the keys, and the house is full. You need the contents question off your desk without vouching for a vendor you have never used.
Trust officers & fiduciaries
You answer personally for what is in that house. You need a handoff you can describe in a file note — who was matched, what was checked, and when.
Realtors & listing agents
You cannot photograph or show a house that is still full. You need a listing date that does not depend on a job nobody owns.
Senior-living & discharge planners
A move-in date is set and the family is overwhelmed. You need one name to give them that is not a stack of business cards.
The problem on your desk
A full house is a job nobody was retained to own.
Fiduciary exposure over contents
A full house is a loss-and-theft exposure the fiduciary personally answers for. Missing valuables become your problem, not the vendor's.
A blocked listing date
Contents hide defects and depress buyer perception. Until the house is clear, the listing is waiting on a job with no owner.
Vendor-wrangling lands on your desk
When the executor cannot cope, coordinating sale, donation, hauling, and cleaning falls to you — unbillable, and outside what you were retained for.
No record of what happened
A dumpster produces no accounting. When a beneficiary asks what became of the contents, you need a better answer than a receipt from the landfill.
How the handoff works
Three steps, one of them yours.
You send one introduction
Give the family our name, or send us theirs with a note on the situation and timing. A short email or the form on this site is enough. There is nothing for you to negotiate or sign.
We match, and we tell you what we checked
We match the family with an independent provider suited to the scope — estate cleanout, hoarding cleanup, downsizing, or a move-out clear. The family hears from that provider directly. On request, we tell you which vetting criteria the matched provider met.
The provider works with the family
Scope, schedule, and pricing are between the family and the provider. You are copied on nothing you do not want, and the contents question is no longer on your desk.
The standard, stated
Vetting you do not have to do — and can see.
“Trusted partner” is not a standard. Before a provider is added to our matching pool, we confirm that it:
- Carries its own general liability coverage — we ask for the certificate and confirm it is current before matching.
- Passes a background check before being added to the matching pool.
- Takes the full-clear job — sort, donate, haul, and final sweep — rather than only the resale-worthy pieces.
- Operates independently. Providers are not Heritage employees, and we say so plainly to every family.
These are checks on the provider's standing, not a promise about the finished condition of any property. That belongs to the provider and the family's written scope.
Both sides of the river
Missouri and Illinois are not the same file.
Missouri estates commonly run under supervised administration, where court approval is generally part of listing and selling real property. Illinois estates commonly run under independent administration, where a representative holding Letters of Office can generally transact without returning to court at each step. Both states run a creditor claim period of roughly six months.
The difference changes when a cleanout can sensibly be scheduled, and it changes what the family should be told about timing. We know the sequence on each side, we route Metro East families to Metro East providers, and we defer to counsel on what any of it means for a specific estate.
For a plain-language overview to share with clients, see the Probate Property Prep Timeline and Illinois vs. Missouri probate in the Metro East.
What the family gets
The same thing you get: one contact.
- One phone number and one email that stays the same from first call to empty house.
- A provider who has been through the criteria above, with the criteria stated rather than implied.
- Plain-language guidance on sequencing: what to secure first, what not to discard before inventory, and when to schedule the walkthrough.
- No charge from Heritage. Providers pay us a referral fee; families do not pay us anything.
Who pays Heritage
You are lending your reputation when you refer, so you should know our incentive before you are asked about it. Providers pay Heritage a referral fee for each introduction. Families pay Heritage nothing.
If a match does not work out, the family tells us and we make another introduction. That is the whole arrangement.
Client handout
“What to expect when the house needs to be cleared”
A one-page, plain-language handout you can print or attach to a client email. It sets expectations on sequence, timing, and what to secure first — in the family's words, not ours — so the conversation is shorter the next time they call you.
Get the Client Handout
Tell us who you are and we'll unlock the one-page handout on this page. Print it, save it as a PDF, or attach it to a client email — no purchase, no obligation.
Partner questions
The questions you will ask before you refer.
Is Heritage insured and bonded?
Heritage is a referral and matching service and does not perform cleanout, hauling, or cleaning work itself. The independent providers we match carry their own general liability coverage, and we confirm the certificate is current before a match is made. Ask any matched provider for their certificate directly; they should expect the request.
What does it cost my client?
Heritage charges families nothing. Providers pay us a referral fee. Scope, schedule, and price for the work itself are set between the family and the provider they are matched with — Heritage does not set or quote prices for work it does not perform.
Can anything happen before Letters Testamentary or Letters of Office are issued?
Whether the personal representative may authorize any work before letters issue is a question for counsel and depends on the state, the county, and the estate. What a family can reasonably ask for in the meantime is a walkthrough and a written scope so that nothing is delayed once authority is confirmed. We will not push a family to act before their attorney says they may.
Do you cover both Missouri and Illinois?
Yes. Heritage matches families across Greater St. Louis and the Metro East, including St. Louis City, St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois. Missouri estates commonly run under supervised administration and Illinois estates commonly under independent administration; we understand the difference that makes to timing, and we defer to counsel on what it means for a specific estate.
How are cash, jewelry, and documents handled?
We advise every family to remove and secure cash, jewelry, firearms, medications, and original documents before any walkthrough, and to complete the estate inventory before anything leaves the house. Ask the matched provider for their written procedure on found valuables before keys change hands, and keep a copy in the file.
What do you need from me to refer a client?
A name, a phone number or email, and a sentence on the situation — whose house, roughly where, and whether there is a court or listing date driving the timing. You can also simply give the family our name and let them reach out on their own schedule.
Take the contents question off your desk.
Refer a client, or ask us a question about how the handoff works. Free for families, no obligation for you.
Refer a client