What To Do When Someone Dies

In her latest blog, Wills & Probate Solicitor Charlotte Day shares some helpful advice on what to do when someone dies…

Following the death of a loved one there are often many tasks that need to be dealt with such as registering the death, arranging the funeral and dealing with the administration of their estate. These tasks may seem overwhelming, especially when you are going through the grieving process. Below are some tips that may help you with what to do when someone dies:

1. Grieving Process

It is important that you allow yourself a few days (or as long as you need) to come to terms with what has happened before you even start thinking about dealing with the next steps. You may also wish to use this time to contact other family and friends to let them know what has happened.

2. Making An Appointment To Register A Death

Most Local Authorities will require you to make an appointment in order to register someone’s death. Details on how to do this can be found on the Local Authority’s website.

3. Register The Death

When you attend the appointment you will need to take the deceased’s passport or birth certificate, their marriage or civil partnership certificate and a document showing their last known address. You should also take some ID for yourself.

The purpose of taking these documents is to ensure that you have all the information to hand when the Registrar asks you for the deceased’s details such as; their date of birth, where they were born, where they married etc.

You will also be asked to pay for the death certificates, which at present at £11 each. It is a good idea to make sure that you have plenty of death certificates, particularly if there are a lot of pensions as pension providers always like to see the original documents.

You can be reimbursed for the costs of the death certificates from the deceased’s estate.

4. Contact The Deceased’s Solicitor For Any Funeral Wishes In The Will

Once the death certificate has been obtained, the Executors will be able to contact the Solicitors holding the deceased’s Will.

It is always a good idea to make an appointment with the Solicitor to go through the Will to ensure that you fully understand the provisions of it and what legal steps you need to take as the Executors to implement it, but this can be done after the funeral if you prefer.

At this stage, it is important to ask the Solicitor whether there are any funeral arrangements or wishes that you need to know about.

The Solicitor will want to see both the death certificate and ID for the Executors, so it’s a good idea to have these ready when you go.

5. Contact the Funeral Director

Once the death has been registered you will be able to make an appointment to visit the Funeral Director to start the process of arranging the funeral.

The deceased may have left a note of their funeral wishes amongst their personal papers or they might have included details in their Will. It is important to try to establish what the funeral wishes are so that you can ensure that they are carried out.

It is the responsibility of the Executors to arrange the funeral, the costs of which (if not already pre-paid) can be met by the estate upon the production of an invoice at the bank, even if the accounts are frozen.

6. Make An Appointment With A Solicitor To Discuss The Administration Of The Estate

Most families will want to wait until after the funeral before they start the process of administering the estate.

As mentioned above, it’s always a good idea to meet with a Solicitor to ensure that you fully understand the Will, your duties as an Executor and what the next steps are. In most cases, the Grant of Probate will need to be obtained and legal advice should be sought in relation to this.

The Solicitor will ask about the deceased’s affairs i.e. did they have a property, were there bank accounts etc. in order to advise you on the next steps. It would be helpful if you could gather as much information as possible to take with you to the initial appointment.

The Solicitor will likely discuss with you whether you want to hand over everything to them so that they can deal with the administration of the estate on your behalf, or whether you would like them to just obtain the Grant of Probate for you, or even whether you want to do it all yourself.

7. Contact The Home Insurance

If there is a property which is now empty following the deceased’s death you will need to contact the home insurance provider to let them know about this so that they can update the policy and let you know of any additional requirements that they might have i.e. weekly property checks. It is important not to overlook this step as it can invalidate a policy.

8. Think About What Other Help And Support Is Available

Following the death of a loved one many people feel a little lost and need some extra support. There will be information provided to the person who registered the death about bereavement support services available to loved ones, and if this wasn’t you, then the details of local bereavement support services should be available on the Local Authority or the hospital’s website.

Some people may need financial support to assist with the costs of the funeral etc. so they may wish to consider whether they are entitled to the Bereavement Support Payment provided by the government – details of which can be found online.

How Can Timms Help?

These top tips are by no means an exhaustive list of the tasks that need to be dealt with. Matters can be further complicated where someone dies without making a Will or where there are disputes in the family.

Therefore, the most important top tip is to make sure that you seek some legal advice to guide you through the process.

If you would like further information, please do not hesitate to contact me on 01283 214 231 or via email at c.day@timms-law.com.

Charlotte Day

May 2023