23 July 2021
Within a few days after a death, someone needs to:
You will find guidance on these matters in this note. It also has answers to questions that people often ask after a death, such as:
The family and friends of the person who has died can usually deal with practical matters immediately after a death. Solicitors get involved when the personal representatives ask for their advice about the estate.
If the person who died lived in a residential or nursing home and no longer owned a property you can skip this section. Go straight to the section on registering the death below.
If the person who has died lived alone, someone should go to their home on the day of the death. Make sure all doors and windows are locked, stop deliveries of papers and milk and move valuable items so that passers-by cannot see them.
Everything that is in the home of the person who has died should remain there. This makes it easy to arrange for all the person's property to be valued for inheritance tax purposes. However, consider moving valuable items to a more secure place if the insurance is inadequate. Ask the executors or close relatives of the person who has died or the person's solicitors before you do this.
If the person who has died kept firearms at the property you need to make arrangements for the guns to be kept safely. You can report the death to the police so that they can arrange safe-keeping. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation has guidance on dealing with firearms when someone dies.
Make temporary arrangements for pets to be looked after by family or friends or through an animal rescue charity.
Look for papers relating to the insurance of the property and its contents, as a priority. Phone the insurers and tell them about the death. Make sure that there is adequate home and contents cover in place. Some policies become invalid if the insurers are not advised of the death or that the property is vacant.
When someone dies, a doctor issues a cause of death certificate. The death should then be recorded formally on the register for births, deaths and marriages.
When to register the death
A death must be registered within five days after the date of the death.
Who can register the death?
If the death was in hospital or in a private home (including a nursing or residential home), the following people can register the death:
If the death was not in a public building or a private home, the following people can register it:
A relative should, if possible, register the death but the registrar allows non-relatives if no relative is available.
Where is the register office?
The death must be registered at the register office for births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships for the district where the person died. If you do not know where this is, contact the local authority or visit its website or the GOV.UK website.
Ring the register office first to find out if it has an appointment system. You can make appointments at Bournemouth, Poole or Christchurch by calling 01202 633744.
During the pandemic most deaths are being registered via telephone appointment with the registrars and not in person.
What you will need to register the death
Whoever registers the death should have:
Where to find the information you need
You should be able to find all the details you need in his or her birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate and state pension or allowance book.
Death certificates
The registrar issues an official copy of the register. You may need to buy additional copies. They cost £11 each but you can claim back the cost from the estate in due course.
You can estimate how many to buy if you know roughly what the person who has died owned. For example, if they had three bank accounts with three different banks, it is best to have three copy certificates, one for each separate institution. You will also need a copy for the person's pension provider and it is sensible to get one or two spare copies while you are at the register office, since it is less convenient to order additional copies later.
Certificate for burial or cremation
The registrar also issues a certificate for burial or cremation. Give this to the funeral director.
"Tell us once" service
You can use the DWP's "Tell us once" service which lets a number of government departments know that someone has died. The registrar will either use the service for you or give you a unique service reference number so that you can use the service over the telephone or online.
The service saves you a lot of time in the long run. It notifies the government departments that deal with the deceased person's benefits, state pension, tax, passport and driving licence.
What if the death is reported to the coroner?
If the coroner is satisfied that the death is natural, then they notify the registrar and the death is registered in the usual way. However, if the coroner decides that an inquest is necessary, the registrar cannot issue a death certificate or a certificate for cremation.
Deaths reported to the coroner and inquests
Unexpected deaths are reported to the coroner, sometimes by the police but usually by the doctor who was called when the person died. A death is regarded as unexpected in any of the following circumstances:
The coroner usually arranges for a post mortem. This normally establishes the cause of death. If the death is from natural causes, it can be registered and the funeral can go ahead. There is an inquest only if the cause of death is in doubt, or the post mortem shows that death was not from natural causes. Even if there is to be an inquest, the coroner usually allows the funeral to be held after the post mortem.
It is best to find the will as soon as possible after the death because:
People who get solicitors to make their wills for them often keep a copy of the will with their important papers. The original is usually kept by the solicitors' firm: the address and phone number of the firm is often on the cover of the copy will.
If you cannot find a will (or a copy) in the home of the person who has died, ask the person's bank and his or her solicitors if they know where it is. You can also:
Do you have a right to see the will?
Only the executors appointed in a will are entitled to see the will before probate is granted. If you are not an executor, the solicitors of the person who has died or the person's bank, if it has the will, cannot allow you to see it or send you a copy of it, unless the executors agree. However, they can tell you who the executors are. They can also let you know what the will, or a note kept with it, says about the kind of funeral the person wanted.
What kind of funeral did the person who has died want?
Many people leave notes saying what kind of funeral they would like, or they express their wishes in their wills. You are not legally obliged to follow the wishes of a person who has died but usually relatives and friends prefer to do so. It can be distressing to discover after the funeral that it was not arranged as the person wished, so look as soon as possible for a note and for the will.
Medical research and organ donation
If you know that the person who has died wanted to leave their body for medical research, look for the relevant consent form. The form may be stored with the person's important papers or with the will. The form will have details of the relevant research institution: contact it and follow the procedure it recommends.
The person who has died may have donated his organs for transplant. Donated organs have to be removed within 48 hours of the death. Speak to the doctor who is looking after the person at the time of death about this.
Telling the executors about the death
If the person who has died left a will which does not appoint you as an executor make sure the executors know about the death. You and the executors can then decide who is to register the death, if this has not already been done, and who is to arrange the funeral.
If you have registered the death and obtained copy death certificates but you are not an executor, hand the copy certificates over to the executors or to their solicitors.
If there is no Will
When this happens, administrators are appointed. They are usually the spouse of a blood relative of the person who has died and they have authority to deal with the estate in much the same way as executors. You can take advice from a solicitor if you are unsure who can take on the role of administrator.
The funeral director will discuss the arrangements with you and guide you through the process leading up to the funeral and the burial or cremation.
Paying for the funeral
By taking on the responsibility for arranging the funeral, you are also taking on the responsibility of paying for it. You can be reimbursed from the estate of the person who has died, if there is enough money in the estate to cover the funeral expenses.
However, there are other ways of paying for the funeral:
Telling people about the death
Solicitors
You may need to contact the solicitors of the person who has died soon after the death to ask if they have the will and to find out who the executors are.
The executors appointed in a will do not necessarily need a solicitor to help them deal with the estate. They can ask the solicitors holding the will to send it to them and can deal with the estate themselves, following guidance available on the internet and in books. If the property passing under the will is uncomplicated and the will itself is straightforward and was prepared by a solicitor, then executors may find it quite easy to go ahead without legal advice. However, you need a business-like approach and quite a lot of time to deal with even a simple estate. Personal Representatives should bear in mind that they have a fiduciary duty to the Beneficiaries and are personally liable for mistakes.
If the executors decide to take legal advice, they can either go to the solicitors who prepared the will or to a different firm. If they have not contacted the solicitor before the funeral, they should do so soon afterwards, and arrange a meeting.
If the person who has died has not left a valid will, then the spouse or a blood relative should contact a solicitor or the CAB for advice. They can help with further searches for the will and explain what to do if the person is intestate.
Bank or building society
Tell the bank or building society where the person who has died had a current account.
Private landlord or local authority
If the person who has died was a tenant living in rented accommodation, tell the landlord or local authority about the death. If the accommodation was shared and the remaining occupant was not a co-tenant but wants to stay in the property, the landlord may be willing to make a new rental agreement with the remaining occupant. He or she may find it helpful to get guidance from a solicitor or the CAB before approaching the landlord.
Employer
If the person who has died was in employment at the time of the death, tell the employer's HR department about the death. It is best to do this soon after the death to speed up the process of paying out any salary due to the estate and lump sums from a pension scheme.
Utility companies and other service providers
You can skip this section if the person who has died lived in a residential or nursing home and no longer had a private home.
The providers of services to the home must be told about the death. For example:
If the suppliers addressed their bills to the person who has died, tell them about the death and, where appropriate, arrange for them to take meter readings as close to the death as possible. If someone else is going to go on living in the property, contact the supplier to arrange for the account to be transferred into that person's name, if they want to go on receiving the service - or arrange to switch to another supplier. Remember that direct debits from a bank or building society account of a person who has died, including direct debits to utility suppliers, are cancelled when the bank or building society hears about the death.
Royal Mail
If the person who has died was living alone in a private home, contact the Royal Mail to arrange for post to be redirected. Redirecting to one of the personal representatives is best, since the post is likely to include information about the person's assets and debts.
Joint bank accounts
If you had a joint bank or building society account with the person who has died, then from the time of the death you automatically own the money in the account. The account is not "frozen" after the death and you do not need a grant of probate or any authority from the personal representatives to access it. You should, however, tell the bank about the death of the other account holder.
Bear in mind that if you were added as a joint owner only so that you could access the account, then you may not have a right to the cash. Instead you might be a Trustee of the account. You should seek advice from a solicitor.
Paying bills
Bank accounts are usually "frozen" from the death until the personal representatives obtain a grant of probate or letters of administration. If the person who has died paid household bills, then the other members of the household may be worried about how to manage between the death and the grant. There are various ways of dealing with this problem, for example:
If you are an executor appointed in the will of the person who has died, or the person is intestate and you are entitled to be appointed an administrator, then in the months following the death you will be involved in the administration of the estate.
The personal representatives’ first task is to assemble as much information as possible relating to the person's assets and debts.
It is useful to note down the following information and keep it to hand:
Full name of the person who has died and any former names.
The personal representatives will need papers containing up-to-date information about the following to enable them, or their solicitors, to start on the administration of the estate:
If the personal representatives arrange to meet the solicitors, it will be helpful if they take these papers to the meeting.
Administrator: The personal representative of a deceased person who did not leave a valid Will. The appropriate person to act as Administrator is determined by Intestacy Law and is usually a spouse (not unmarried partner) or a blood relation.
Administration of the estate: This is the task carried out by the executors or administrators of a person who has died. It involves assembling all the person's assets, paying the person's debts and any tax due, and paying or transferring whatever remains to the people who are entitled to it under the will or the statutory rules that apply when an intestate dies.
Beneficiary: A person due to inherit either under the deceased’s Will or under Intestacy Law
CAB: The Citizens' Advice Bureau.
DWP: The Department of Work and Pensions.
Estate: Everything that belonged to a person who has died and all the person's debts.
Executor: A personal representative appointed in a will.
Grant of probate: A document issued by the Probate Registry to the executors of a person who has died confirming that they have authority to deal with the person's estate.
HMRC: Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. A government department which deals with Income tax and Inheritance Tax.
Intestate: A person who dies without making a will.
Personal representatives: The people who have the legal authority to deal with the estate of a person who has died. They are often, but not always, members of the person's family. If there is a will, the personal representatives are named in the will and called the executors. If there is no will, a solicitor whose practice includes wills and probate can tell you who the personal representatives are.
Probate Registry: The government office that deals with probate matters.
Further help
For further information, see:
If you would like assistance you can contact our friendly and approachable Wills, Trust and Probate lawyers based at our Bournemouth and Christchurch offices via our website or by calling the numbers below:
Moordown - 01202 527008
Lansdowne - 01202 294411
Highcliffe - 01425 282150
Please note, this is not legal advice. It is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
