Bereavement Advice
Step by step checklist
Losing a loved one is life-changing, and dealing with the aspects of grief can be devastating, expected or not. But thinking of the practicalities of what you need to do next can make it even more overwhelming and stressful. It’s easy to get lost in the process.
With the below steps, we hope to make this process easier for you from the day of the passing to the day the estate administration is completed.
Step 1 – Where Do I Start?
Knowing what to do with yourself during the first few hours after a loved one has died can be difficult. Knowing where to begin and taking the first step can be the hardest. While you’re waiting to collect the official paperwork from the doctor or the hospital to register the death, there are a few things you can get on with if you feel ready.
One of these is finding any paperwork that details whether there are specific funeral wishes or organ/body donation requests. If this isn’t necessary, the other documents listed in the above link will be useful when registering the death. If you feel up to it, you can begin to call family and friends to let them know what’s happened.
Another way of doing something worthwhile is to activate the mail suppression service. This simple but effective service helps to reduce junk mail and marketing mail in the name of the person who has passed away and, in turn, can help to reduce the risk of identity fraud.
Step 2 – Registering the Death
Unless there’s a Coroner, you’ll be contacted by either the hospital or the deceased’s doctor to arrange a collection of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD for short). You can then make an appointment with the Registrar to complete the official registration; it’s worth bearing in mind the death needs to be registered in the county where the person died, not where they lived.
You’ll need to take several documents along to the appointment.
The Registrar will give you an A4 wallet containing useful information about services and documents. The main ones will be:
Death Certificates – These are all certified copies of the original entry that stays with the Registrar and are usually light green. You can request as many of these as you wish, but you will be charged for each copy. It is often cheaper to receive these on registration day rather than at a later date. If anyone asks you for an original Death Certificate, this is what they mean.
Certificate for Cremation or Burial – Commonly referred to as the “Green Form”, the Funeral Director can officially go ahead with the funeral arrangements.
BD8 – Registration of Notification of Death – DWP – You might not need this if you are offered the Tell Us Once service to notify the Government organisations of the death, but please note this service isn’t available in all areas. The Registrar will be able to tell you whether this is available.
Step 3 – Making the Funeral Arrangements
It’s important to remember when you hand over the “Green Form”, you are personally entering into the contract for payment with the Funeral Director. If you have concerns about paying for the funeral, call us on 02038157802, and we’ll discuss this with you.
If you’ve found a Will or even a Letter of Wishes, this might give you an idea about what your loved one wants for their funeral. It’s important to understand that funeral wishes in a will aren’t legally binding and don’t have to be followed if they’re not possible.
This can present a moral dilemma, but doing the right thing doesn’t always mean following their wishes to the letter.
Before you move on to the next steps, it’s worth checking whether you are the right person to continue.
Step 4 – Building a Picture of the Estate
If you had Power of Attorney or managed the deceased’s finances, you would probably have a clear picture of how the estate is put together. The deceased may have been very organised, leaving you with a folder or filing cabinet containing all the information you’ll need to look after the estate.
If you don’t have a folder like this, don’t worry, it will just take a little more investigating. Take some time to check through any paperwork for details of who they dealt with for banking and other matters. You’re only looking for a name – it doesn’t matter at this point whether accounts are open or closed. A starting point could be a debit or credit card in their purse or wallet, a bank statement, a utility bill or even a memory of a conversation about going to a certain bank or building society. It all helps.
Step 5 – Letting Everyone Know
There will probably be more people to tell about the death than you expect, and it can be hard to think of everyone.
It could be helpful to make two lists, one for personal, e.g. family/friends/work colleagues and another for professional, e.g. financial organisations/insurance companies/family solicitor/accountant/financial advisor. You can then use the lists to make notes, to help keep track of who you have told and if you need to do anything else.
Step 6 – Working Out if You Need Probate
The easiest way to work out if you’ll need Probate is to call us on 02038157802, and we can go through this with you.
It’s worth remembering that Probate is only needed in certain circumstances, not just because a Will hasn’t been made or because the total value of the whole estate seems high. The value of the individual assets within a person’s estate may make a Probate a requirement. If you are not sure if you need a probate, call us, and we can find that out for you.
Step 7 – The Final Step
Once you’ve obtained Probate (if required), you can arrange for any sole assets to be sold or transferred. Before you hand over anything to the beneficiaries, make sure that debts are settled and that Inheritance Tax has been paid. If you want to ensure that you’ve considered everything, you can check who needs to be paid in what order in our Insolvent Estates section.
When you’re comfortable that all debts have been paid, you can either:
Follow the instructions in the Will to pay any Legatees/Beneficiaries
Or
Distribute the estate to the deceased’s relatives in line with inheritance laws called the Rules of Intestacy.
Keep clear records that show what money is coming in and out of the estate to give you a clear paper trail showing how the estate has been administered. You can then put these together with the Death Certificate, the Will (if there was one) and the Grant of Probate (if required) to form your estate accounts.
This is a simple checklist which you may find useful as a reminder of what needs to be done after someone has died.
Some of these steps can be taken by the executor or administrator of the estate, and family or friends can do others.
Please remember that this information is just a guide; not everything will apply in every case. Please call us with any questions you might have, and we’d be happy to discuss your circumstances and point you in the right direction.
It might be useful to list some important reference numbers and information, such as the deceased’s date and place of birth and marriage, National Insurance number and tax reference numbers, to help you fill out any forms and write any letters.