People keep asking what we're doing with Mom's house. What do I tell them?

The asking usually isn't malice. A house where everyone gathered feels partly theirs, and people process loss by wanting information. But decisions made in front of an audience get worse, not better. The households that come through this cleanly keep the deciding circle small — the heirs, the attorney, whoever's actually signing. They tell the wider family after decisions are made, not while they're being weighed.

If someone pushes past the sentence, that's information about them, not an obligation for you. Privacy while you settle an estate isn't secrecy — it's the room a family needs to think. And when you want a quiet read on what the house is worth before anyone else knows you asked, that's a normal place to start.