What To Do When Someone Dies

When someone dies there are many decisions and arrangements to be made. Sadly, these have to be made at a time of personal distress. Some of these things can be done by a close relative or friend; others need to be done by the executor or administrator of the estate. These are people appointed who will carry out the terms of a will.

We at Here-After can help you through the process, at no cost to yourself or family, please telephone us for advice. To help you, we’ve put together a simple checklist to guide you through the process. Before you start, it is very useful to have the following information to hand about the person who has died. This will make the task of completing any forms or documents much easier.

• National Insurance number
• NHS number
• date and place of birth
• date of marriage or civil partnership (if appropriate)
• Child Benefit number
• tax reference number
 
What to do in the first five days

• notify the family doctor
• register the death at a register office
• find the will - the deceased person’s solicitor may have a copy if you can't find one
• begin funeral arrangements - you will need to check the will for any special requests
• if relevant, complete form BD8 given to you when you register the death and send to the local Job Centre Plus
  or Social  Security
• if the person who has died was receiving any benefits or tax credits, advise the offices that were making the
  payments.
 
If there is a Will

• contact the executor if this isn’t you (usually nominated in the will to sort out the deceased's affairs) to enable
  them to start the process of obtainig probate.
 
If there is no Will

• decide who will apply to sort out the deceased's affairs
• contact the Probate Registry to apply for 'letters of administration'

Who else to contact

As well as informing people who are close to the person, in many cases you'll need to close down accounts, or cancel or change insurance details, subscriptions, agreements, payments or direct debits.

Here’s a list to help you keep track; just cross through the ones that don’t apply:

• relatives and friends
• employer
• school
• solicitor/accountant

Government Organisations

• the relevant Tax Office
• National Insurance Contributions Office if they were self-employed (to cancel payments)
• Child Benefit Office (at latest within eight weeks)
• local authority if they paid Council Tax, had a parking permit, were issued with a Blue Badge for disabled
  parking, or received social services help, attended day care or similar
• UK Identity and Passport Service, to return and cancel a passport
• DVLA, to return any driving licence, cancel car tax or return
• car registration documents/change ownership

Financial Organisations

• general insurance companies - contents, car, travel, medical etc
• any other company with which the deceased may have had rental, hire purchase or loan agreements
• if the deceased was the first named on an insurance policy, make contact as early as possible to check that you
  are still insured
• pension providers/life insurance companies
• banks and building societies
• mortgage provider
• hire purchase or loan companies
• credit card providers/store cards

Utilities and household contacts

• landlord or local authority if they rented a property
• any private organisation/agency providing home help
• utility companies if accounts were in the deceased's name
• Royal Mail, if mail needs re-directing
• TV/internet companies with which the deceased had subscriptions
 
Other useful contacts

• Bereavement Register and Deceased Preference Service to remove the deceased's name from mailing lists and
  databases
• clubs, trade unions, associations with seasonal membership for cancellation and refunds
• church/regular place of worship
• social groups to which the deceased belonged
• dentist
• creditors - anyone to whom the deceased owed money
• debtors - anyone who owed the deceased money
 
Benefits and Financial help

You may be able to claim certain benefits and one-off payments if you lived with or were dependent on the deceased. Time limits apply, so contact your nearest Job centre Plus office as soon as possible to find out.

• contact Job centre Plus
• make a claim for Bereavement Allowance
• make a claim for Widowed Parent’s Allowance
• make a claim for a Bereavement Payment
• make a claim for a Funeral Payment
• check your current benefits and tax credits
 
Making a New Will

Surviving relatives and friends of the deceased may need to make a new will. It is important to ask a solicitor about this. We, at Here-After will be happy to put you in touch with a Solicitor, one who is tried and tested and has gained our confidence, this referral will be at no cost to yourself. Please telephone or email us for further information.