What to do when someone dies
When someone close to you dies, it can be difficult working out what to do and in what order. There are a number of tasks to be considered which can make an already difficult time even more stressful.
When someone close to you dies, it can be difficult working out what to do and in what order. There are a number of tasks to be considered which can make an already difficult time even more stressful.
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.
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.
Registering the death will provide you with a copy of the death certificate, a certificate for burial or cremation, and a certificate of registration of death.
In the scenario that a Coroner is needed to investigate the death, it is not possible to carry out any preservative work in preparation for the funeral.
A valid Will outlines the deceased’s wishes, stating who they want to benefit from their estate, and who will manage their affairs upon their passing.
This includes important paperwork such as pension details, insurance policies, and bank and building society accounts.
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.
The term probate refers to the Grant of Probate, a legal document that may be required in order to carry out estate administration.
In addition to obtaining probate, estate administration is the process of dealing with a person’s legal and tax affairs after they have died.
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.
Registering the death will provide you with a copy of the death certificate, a certificate for burial or cremation, and a certificate of registration of death.
In the scenario that a Coroner is needed to investigate the death, it is not possible to carry out any preservative work in preparation for the funeral.
A valid Will outlines the deceased’s wishes, stating who they want to benefit from their estate, and who will manage their affairs upon their passing.
This includes important paperwork such as pension details, insurance policies, and bank and building society accounts.
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.
The term probate refers to the Grant of Probate, a legal document that may be required in order to carry out estate administration.
In addition to obtaining probate, estate administration is the process of dealing with a person’s legal and tax affairs after they have died.
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.
If the death occurred at home or in a care or nursing home, a GP will usually issue the medical certificate. You should contact your local Doctor if the death occurred under natural circumstances.
In the case of sudden or unexpected deaths, the first thing to do when someone dies at home is to contact emergency services.
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.
If the death occurred at home or in a care or nursing home, a GP will usually issue the medical certificate. You should contact your local Doctor if the death occurred under natural circumstances.
In the case of sudden or unexpected deaths, the first thing to do when someone dies at home is to contact emergency services.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
Banks and financial institutions require a copy of the death certificate to freeze or close an account. In addition to the death certificate, they will also want to see proof of authority – this may be a copy of the Will stating that you are the Executor or evidence that demonstrates your relationship to the deceased if there is no Will.
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.
Banks and financial institutions require a copy of the death certificate to freeze or close an account. In addition to the death certificate, they will also want to see proof of authority – this may be a copy of the Will stating that you are the Executor or evidence that demonstrates your relationship to the deceased if there is no Will.
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.
If someone close to you has passed away and you have questions about probate or what needs to be done, our team of specialists are on hand to help. Discuss the next steps and how professional support can reduce the burden.
Discover more in our informative articles about undertaking the role of dealing with a deceased person's estate.