The four things that have to happen, in order — written for a municipality that's really several small communities stitched together, most of it rural, spread out, and not always on municipal water and sewer.
Lakeshore isn't a single town — it's an amalgamation of smaller communities (Belle River has its own page here, since it's distinct enough to earn one; Puce, Comber, Stoney Point, Maidstone, and St. Joachim are the others that fall under the Lakeshore name). If your parent's house is in Lakeshore but not right in Belle River proper, there's a real chance it's a rural property — a farmhouse on a larger lot, further from services, possibly on a well and septic system rather than municipal water and sewer. That changes some practical things about settling the house that a compact in-town property doesn't have to deal with: who inspects a septic system before a sale, whether the well needs testing, and how far the nearest cleanout or junk-removal company actually has to drive.
It also changes the empty-house math. A rural Lakeshore property sitting empty needs the same insurance call as anywhere else — most policies still limit or void coverage after about 30 days unoccupied — but heating a larger, older farmhouse through an Ontario winter costs more than heating a compact bungalow, and a burst pipe in a house nobody's checking regularly is a bigger and more expensive problem the farther it is from anyone who'd notice quickly.
The order of operations stays the same regardless of which part of Lakeshore you're dealing with: authority to act, the contents, what the house and land are actually worth, and timing. On a rural property specifically, the land itself is often a real part of that third question — acreage, outbuildings, and farm equipment can carry meaningful value separate from the house, and it's worth getting those looked at separately rather than assuming one number covers everything.
I buy properties across Lakeshore's rural and in-town areas both, as they stand. If a Lakeshore property, farmhouse or otherwise, is part of what you're settling, the free guide below covers the four steps in detail. If selling to me isn't the right move, I'll tell you plainly.
Free. No cost, no obligation, and no call unless you ask for one. If selling isn't the right answer for your family, I'll tell you so.