What to do when someone dies

Initial stages

The process

We appreciate that there is a lot to take on board, especially in the early stages, so to answer the question of what to do when someone dies, we have broken down the process into eight stages.

Medical certificate +

Registering the death +

Coroner +

Will +

Paperwork +

Funeral +

Probate +

Estate administration +

Getting a medical certificate

The first thing to do when someone dies is obtain a ‘medical certificate of cause of death’. This is a requirement before the death can be registered.

Learn more

Stage one

Getting a medical certificate

The first thing to do when someone dies is to obtain a medical certificate of cause of death – this is required to register the death. If the Coroner is involved, the process will be slightly different.

What happens if the death happened at the hospital? +

What happens if the death happened at home? +

If the person died in a hospital, the staff will arrange for a Doctor to issue a medical certificate that will specify the time, date, and cause of death. If a Doctor is not on duty at the time of death, you may be given an appointment to collect the medical certificate at a later date. If you have questions regarding the cause of death stated on the medical certificate, it is appropriate to ask the medical staff. At the same time as collecting the medical certificate, the deceased’s belongings can usually also be collected. The person who has died is then taken to the hospital mortuary, before being transferred to the Funeral Directors.

Stage two

Registering the death

Before funeral arrangements can be made, the death needs to be registered. Normally, relatives of the deceased are required to register the death. However, the Registrar will allow non-relatives to do so if the next of kin are unavailable. In these scenarios, someone who was present at the death may register it – this may be a hospital representative, an occupant of the house where the death occurred, or the person arranging the funeral.

A death should be registered at the register office in the area where the person died. If this is not possible, the death can be registered at a register office of your choice, and the information will then be passed to the Registrar closest to where the death occurred. If this approach is taken, it may result in a delay in the paperwork being processed.

If you are named as an Executor, you should consider your options; do you have the time and ability to complete the complex paperwork and processes involved in estate administration, or would it be best to instruct a professional?

If you’d like free, impartial advice on the next steps, please contact us.
Visiting the local register office is the easiest way to get the documents you need. In most cases, registration takes less than an hour to complete.

An appointment is generally made by calling the register office directly or booking online.
In England and Wales, you have up to five days to register a death. In Scotland, a death must be registered with local registration districts within eight days. The following documents are required:
- Medical certificate of cause of death
- Birth and marriage certificates
- NHS medical card (if available)
- Date and place of death
- Home address
- Full name – including maiden name, any former married names, and any other names by which the deceased was known
- Date and place of birth – the town or county is sufficient if the exact address is not known (or the country of origin if born outside the UK)
- Their current or, if retired, former occupation
- Details of their spouse or civil partner and whether they died before them
- Whether they had any government pension or allowance
A death certificate

This proves that the death has been registered. It is recommended that you buy several copies, perhaps one for each bank or financial institution where the person held accounts, and each pension or insurance policy. Extra certificates are sometimes more expensive to purchase at a later stage and photocopies are not usually accepted by institutions.

A certificate of registration of death

This is often called the ‘white form’. This is given if the deceased was entitled to a state pension or benefits. If required, the details must be completed and sent to the address on the reverse of the form.

A certificate for burial or cremation

This is often called the ‘green form’ and it must be given to the Funeral Director before the funeral can take place.

Stage three

When the Coroner is involved

In cases where a death is reported to the Coroner, all necessary papers will be issued by them once investigations are complete. If the cause of death remains uncertified, or if it is determined that the death was not from natural causes, an inquest will be held. In these cases, the Coroner will issue an interim death certificate. While a Coroner is investigating a death, it is not possible to carry out any preservative work in preparation for the funeral.

It is also recommended that you do not book a definite date for the funeral while any investigation is ongoing, although you can certainly start to plan the ceremony. If a Coroner’s post-mortem examination reveals that the death was due to natural causes and an inquest is not needed, the Coroner will release the body. The death can then be registered, and the funeral can take place.

Mother and daughter holding hands in woods

Stage four

Dealing with the Will

The next thing that needs to be done is to find out if the deceased left a valid Will. There may be specific funeral requests contained in this document. If you cannot find a Will, we advise conducting a Will search by approaching Will Writers and Solicitors local to the area where the deceased lived and searching The National Will Register. This is particularly important when it comes to dealing with the deceased’s affairs later on, as there are different legal requirements for administering the estate if no valid Will was written.

Stage five

Locating important documents

What documents do you need after death? At this stage, you should already have the birth, marriage, and death certificates. However, other important paperwork, such as pension details, insurance policies, and bank and building society accounts, will be helpful later on, particularly if you need to apply for probate (or confirmation in Scotland). Once these documents have been located, it is advisable to keep them all together in a safe place for ease of access.

Stage six

Arranging the funeral

The deceased may have left a written record, told family and friends about their funeral wishes, or have a pre-paid funeral plan in place. It is advisable to check whether any of these arrangements have been made prior to contacting a Funeral Director independently. If no specific requests were made during the person’s life, a range of decisions regarding the funeral will need to be made by the family. These decisions will include:

Whether the person should be buried or cremated
Where the funeral is to take place
What flowers are required
What readings you would like during the service
What music is to be played

Stage seven

Probate

Probate, also known as a Grant of Probate, is a legal document that the Executors of a Will may need to obtain when administering the estate of someone who has died. In scenarios where the deceased passed away without a Will, the document is referred to as a Grant of Letters of Administration, and the person responsible for sourcing this legal document is referred to as an Administrator. The umbrella term for both a Grant of Probate and a Grant of Letters of Administration is Grant of Representation; both terms refer to the same process.

Obtaining probate provides the Executor with the legal authority to carry out estate administration – the process of dealing with the deceased’s assets, legal affairs, debts, and more. Therefore, probate is one step of the wider estate administration process.

How do you avoid probate? The reality is that the requirement for probate is not determined by the estate value or whether a Will was left behind or not; financial institutions set their own probate thresholds, and this varies between different providers. For this reason, probate is unavoidable if the deceased owned assets that exceed these individual thresholds.

Do you have to tell the bank when someone dies? +

Do I need a death certificate to close a bank account? +

Can you access a deceased person's bank account without probate? +

The banks and financial institutions with which the deceased held accounts will need to be notified of their passing. It is advisable to notify the financial institutions as soon as possible so the account can be frozen, as the deceased may have ongoing standing orders and direct debits.

Stage eight

Estate administration

Estate administration is the process of dealing with a person’s legal and tax affairs after they have died. This normally means dealing with all their assets (such as property and personal possessions) and liabilities (such as outstanding debts) before transferring whatever is left to the beneficiaries. Turn to Kings Court Trust for support.

Expertise you can rely on: With over 20 years' experience and more than 40,000 estates administered, we're one of the UK's most trusted probate specialists.

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What to do when someone dies

The process

Getting a medical certificate

Registering the death

When a Coroner is involved

Dealing with the Will

Locating important papers

Arranging the funeral

Probate

Estate administration

Getting a medical certificate

Registering the death

When a Coroner is involved

Dealing with the Will

Locating important papers

Arranging the funeral

Probate

Estate administration

Getting a medical certificate

Registering the death

Where do I register a death?

How do I register a death?

How long do I have to register a death?

What information does the Registrar require about the deceased?

What will the Registrar provide me after registering the death?

When the Coroner is involved

Dealing with the Will

Locating important documents

Arranging the funeral

Probate

Estate administration

Are you dealing with the death of a loved one?

Essential resources

Understanding Inheritance Tax in the UK

Your complete estate administration guide

Costly mistakes in estate administration