Whether it has been expected because of a long illness, or it’s due to a surprise event like an accident or sudden health incident, it can be quite shocking when someone passes away. After the initial jolt fades, and you are working through grief on your way to acceptance, there are practical tasks that must be taken care of—especially if the job of handling the bureaucratic details falls to you. Below is a list from the AARP of things that need to be handled after someone dies.
The first thing to know is that it’s not ALL up to you. You will need help with certain aspects of this to-do list. The list provided here will give you a sense of where help is needed and where you can go to get it. It is broken it into three parts: what to do immediately after the death, within a few days, and in two weeks or so afterwards. The version below is a summary only. For more in-depth information please refer to the Citizens Advice.
To Do Immediately
Register the death
When a loved one passes away, one of the first things you’ll need to do is get a Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (MCCD) so that you can register the death at your local register office. An MCCD can either be issued by administrative staff at the hospital or care home, or if your relative has died at home their GP can issue the certificate. If the cause of death is clear the MCCD should be issued straight away.
A registration of the death is the next step. Make an appointment to register the death and take the MCCD to your local registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. You can find your local register office here.
The death must be registered within five days (eight days in Scotland). The registrar will issue a permission to bury and the death certificate.
If there is any uncertainty with the cause of death, or the circumstances around it, or if the deceased has not been seen by their doctor for 14 days (in England, Scotland and Wales) or 28 days (in Northern Ireland), the medical certificate will not be issues immediately. In these cases, the death must be reported to a coroner (or procurator fiscal in Scotland) who may require a post-mortem. If the cause still cannot be determined there will be a coroner’s inquest. However, the coroner will usually issue an interim death certificate so that the funeral can go ahead, and probate can be granted.
Tell friends and family
How you handle sharing the loss with friends and family is a personal decision. You will most likely want to talk to certain people in person or by phone. To track down other people who need to know, you can look through email and mobile phone contacts if you have access. It’s also a good idea to inform institutions that the deceased was involved with, like their social clubs. You may also want to post to social media—both to their account, if you have access, and yours.
Find out about existing funeral and burial plans
If the person was in the hospital or hospice, you likely already have this information. If the death was unexpected, you’ll have to do some research. Look for a letter of instruction in the deceased’s papers. If one does not exist, then it’s time to start planning. A good first step is to call a family meeting to discuss it. Talk about what you think the person wanted in terms of a funeral, what you can afford, and what the family wants.
To Do Within a Few Days
Make funeral, burial, or cremation arrangements
If a prepaid burial plan does not exist, you’ll need to choose a funeral home and decide on all the specifics. It’s a good idea to research funeral prices to help you make informed decisions and check if the funeral home belongs to a professional association such as the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) or the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF).
Be sure to get help from friends and family: you may need volunteers to be pall bearers, give eulogies, plan the service, help keep a list of well-wishers, write thank-you notes, plan and arrange a wake or post-funeral gathering, and so on.
You may want to get a friend or relative who is a good writer to put together an obituary.
If the person was serving in the military, your visiting officer (VO) will provide some advice about funerals, or you can find more information on Veterans UK.
Secure the deceased’s property
Lock up their house and cars. Secure cash, jewellery, and other valuables from the home. Get the mail and remove spoilable foods from the refrigerator. Ask a neighbour to water the plants.
Provide care for pets
Make sure pets have caretakers until there’s a permanent plan for them. Having them stay with a relative who can comfort them is the best choice.
Forward mail
Go to the post office and arrange for the person’s mail to be redirected to yourself or whoever is working with you to see to the immediate affairs. This will also help you learn what subscriptions, creditors, and other accounts will need to be cancelled or paid.
Notify the deceased’s employer
When you speak to their employer be sure to ask about benefits, and any pay that may be due, as well as the employer’s life insurance or death in service policies, which many large companies have.
Within Two Weeks After Death
Secure certified copies of death certificates
Make several copies of the death certificate since you will need it to close and cancel accounts and file insurance claims.
Find the will and identify the executor
If the death was expected, you most likely discussed the will with your relative already. If not, look for it wherever they kept important papers (in a desk, a safe-deposit box, etc.). Wills generally name who is chosen as executor. This person will need to be involved in most of the steps going forward.
If there isn’t a will or trust in place, the estate will be distributed according to the legal rules of intestacy. If you are the closest living relative, you can apply for a ‘Letter of Administration’. – https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate
Contact an Accountant
Contact your relative’s accountant if they had one. The estate may have to file a tax return, and the deceased will have to file a final return. It’s critical to have these done correctly.
For simple estates that do not require an application of probate, an accountant can help you through the winding-up process. This would typically be a small estate that consists of only personal belongings and cash (usually up to £5,000), or where property and bank accounts are held jointly with someone who is still living and funds can be released without a Grant of Probate.
Not all accountants are licensed to provide probate services, so if a Grant of Probate is required then find a chartered accountant licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). They will be able to provide full and regulated services.
A chartered accountant may either be appointed as a named Executor or may support the named Executor/s in their professional capacity.
Meet with a probate lawyer
Consider appointing a probate solicitor, especially if the estate is worth more than £325,000. Probate solicitors are legal specialists with knowledge of tax and accountancy, who can help navigate the process, distribute assets, and keep track of assets being sold and debts being settled during probate.
A probate solicitor must be appointed if a case becomes contentious due to a dispute relating to the will, its validity or the distribution of the estate. These cases require litigation so if a chartered accountant is handling the case prior to the dispute arising, they will have to hand the case over to a specialist probate lawyer to continue the process, and only once the contention is settled can the case revert back to the accountant.
The probate lawyer must be chosen and/or approved by the executor.
Initiate probate
Probate is the legal process of executing a will. It is done through the probate registry and HM Revenue and Customs office. The process ensures that the person’s debts and liabilities are paid and that the remaining assets are transferred to the beneficiaries. The probate process takes an average of 12 to 17 months in the UK to complete. If you are a beneficiary and need your inheritance funds sooner, consider getting an inheritance advance.
Inventory all assets
Probate typically starts with an inventory of all assets—bank accounts, houses, cars, brokerage accounts, personal property, furniture, jewellery, etc., all of which will need to be filed in the court. Consider hiring an appraiser if there are a substantial number of physical items that need to be valued.
Track down assets
To inventory all the assets, you must find all the assets. This can be a big job. If the estate is large, there are search firms that can help you track down assets in exchange for a fee. But this can also be done yourself. Start with a close examination of the deceased’s tax returns, mail, email, brokerage and bank accounts, deeds, and titles. Be sure to check all filing cabinet and any safe-deposit boxes.
Make a list of bills
All outstanding debts will need to be settled for the estate to close, so provide the executor with a list of these expenses.
Cancel services no longer needed
Some examples include internet, telephone and mobile phone services, and any subscriptions.
Notify government organisations:
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits.
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension.
- Social Security Scotland – to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment.
- Passport Office – to cancel a British passport.
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – to cancel a licence and end the vehicle tax.
- the local council – to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction or a Blue Badge, to inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register.
- Veterans UK – to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments.
In England and Wales, “Tell Us Once’ is a service that lets you report a death to most government departments in one go. When you register the death, the registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service and they will either complete the series with you or give you a unique reference number so that you can use the service yourself online or by phone.
Notify institutions of the death
- Life insurance companies
- Banks, building societies, and other financial institutions
- Mortgage providers
- Financial advisers, stockbrokers
- Credit agencies
- The Gazette official public record
- The Department of Work and Pensions to stop their pension or any benefits they have been receiving
- Pension Provider/s if they had a personal or work pension
- HM Revenue and Customs so that tax issues can be worked out
- Car insurance company
- Their local council, to sort out council tax issues and to notify social services if they were receiving any support from them.
- Their landlord if they were renting or named on a lease
Cancel driver’s license
This prevents identity theft. Contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) for specific instructions, but you’ll need a copy of the death certificate. Keep a copy of the cancelled driver’s license in your records. You may need it to close or access accounts that belonged to the deceased.
Return passport to the HM Passport Office
This is to prevent identity fraud. Contact the HM Passport Office for detailed instructions. Keep a copy of the passport for your records. You will need it to use the government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service and may need it to close or access accounts that belonged to the deceased.
Close credit card accounts
Contact customer service and tell the representative that you’re closing the account on behalf of a deceased relative who had a sole account. You’ll need a copy of the death certificate for this as well. Keep records of accounts you close and inform the executor of any outstanding balances on the cards. Credit bureaus, as part of their regular reporting process, will also send card issuers an alert that your relative has died. Be sure to cut up your dead loved one’s credit cards so they aren’t lost or stolen.
Terminate insurance policies
Contact providers to end coverage for the deceased on home, auto and health insurance policies, and ask that any unused premium be returned.
Delete or memorialise social media accounts
You can delete social media accounts, but some choose to turn them into a memorial for their loved one instead. Whether you choose to delete or memorialise, you’ll need to contact the companies with copies of the death certificate.
Close email accounts
To prevent identity theft and fraud, shut down the deceased’s email account. If you don’t have access, you’ll need copies of the death certificate to cancel an email account. The specifics vary by email provider, but most require a death certificate and verification that you are a relative or the estate executor.
Update electoral register
Contact the deceased’s local council directly to find out how to remove your dead relative from the electoral roll.
