Oh, I meant to say, that there are probably lots of intermediate things that can be done to preserve the collection. The house has value, the contents. An auction of selected items is something that happens after the financial resources are surveyed. Insurance, bank accounts, savings, investments, etc. I won't speculate, that's not why I'm listing this.

There is a formula in place for the amount of fees that might be collected by the administrator. It's a discretionary thing, whether an administrator collects the fee. Estates are a lot of work, and the fee doesn't begin to cover the hours, but for many administrators it is a labor of love. Families are usually the greatest impediment to an estate being settled easily. All it takes is one litigious arguer to make the whole thing hell on earth. And many families seem to have one.

SRS