What to do when Someone Dies

Introduction

What to do when someone dies – it is not a nice thing to contemplate – but, when it happens, you are naturally in a distressed state of mind, and not in the best position to identify, plan and carry out complex, organisational tasks – yet they must be done.

It can be useful to have a “checklist” – like this page – to help minimize any additional stress arising from “not knowing what to do.”

Important Note: I prepared this by trawling the internet for sources of information – it is not a professional document, and may not be complete or definitive. No responsibility will be accepted for anything that happens if you use this document. Having covered my back, if you think this may be useful, then please do use it, print it out, make notes, whatever – I place it in the public domain and claim no copyright. If you spot an error here, or would like to suggest an addition or improvement, please contact the Grapevine – thanks! (Peter) (This document assumes that there is a will.)

What to do straight away.

  • Depending on the circumstances, call either an ambulance, a GP, or whoever is in charge of home palliative care.
  • Call a member of your family.
  • While you are waiting for family to arrive, call a friend or neighbour.
  • Wait for the GP/ambulance/nurse to arrive.

If death was expected, a qualified person should issue a medical certificate with the cause of death.

If death was unexpected, police may also arrive – don’t worry, it’s a normal part of the process. For unexpected deaths, or if the person didn’t see their GP within 14 days of their death, the doctor or police will report the death to a coroner – an official who looks into sudden deaths to help find out why they happened.

Most hospital mortuaries will allow you to keep a body there (usually until the morning of the funeral, but under the terms a will, it may be until the undertakers arrange for transfer to their mortuary.)

Now that the law has changed to “opt out”, it will be considered that a person agrees to become an organ donor when they die, if:

  • they are over 18;
  • they have not opted out;
  • they are not in an excluded group.

Everyone still has a choice whether or not they want to become an organ donor, and can register or amend their decision at any time. ( https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/uk-laws/organ-donation-law-in-england/ )

What to do next – the first few days:

This advice came originally from Martin Lewis’ website :

” Share tasks with family and friends. This is a key point to keep in mind throughout the tasks to come. With a funeral to organise, family and friends to tell, and other organisations to notify, make sure you aren’t taking on too much at an already stressful time.

Before you, or anyone else, start tackling finances, there are key practical and emotional steps to take. As well as telling relatives and friends, several other parties will need to be told.

Of course, exactly when you do these is up to you – immediate family will need to know before long-lost cousins. Again, don’t feel you have to do it alone. Other relatives or close friends can help here too. Draw up a list of those who need to know, and divide it between the family to ensure you don’t overlap.”

What you must do within 5 Days:

You must register the death at the register office for the area where the death happened.
( Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/register-a-death ). You will likely need to book an appointment, so it’s worth telephoning first. You will need to provide the following documents:

  • The medical certificate of cause of death from the doctor.
  • The deceased’s medical information (card), if available

It would be useful if you could also bring one of the following supporting documents relating to the deceased – Passport/Utility Bill/Driving Licence/Marriage or Civil Partnership Certificate. You can however still register a Death without any of these. You will need to give the following information:

  • Date and place of death.
  • Name and surname of the deceased.
  • Date and place of birth.
  • Occupation.
  • Your name and occupation.
  • Address.
  • Whether the deceased was in receipt of a state pension.
  • Your date of birth.

Obtain a certificate for burial or cremation

When you register a death in the majority of cases the registrar will issue a certificate for the burial or cremation of the body. If a death has been reported to the coroner, he or she may issue a certificate for burial or cremation where possible.

You will need to hand the certificate to the funeral firm. They will hand it to the burial authority or the crematorium in due course.

A funeral cannot proceed until this certificate is given to the burial authority or the crematorium.

Consider using the “Tell Us Once” service

( Guidance: https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once )

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go.

When you register the death the registrar will:

  • let you know if the service is available in your area.
  • give you the phone number.
  • give you a unique reference number to use the Tell Us Once service by phone.

To use Tell Us Once you’ll need the following details:

  • Date of birth
  • National Insurance number
  • Driving licence number
  • Passport number

You’ll also need:

  • Details of any benefits or entitlements they were getting, for example State Pension.
  • Details of any local council services they were getting, for example Blue Badge.
  • Your name and address as widow and executor.
  • Details of any public sector pension schemes they were getting.

The Tell Us Once service will notify:

  • HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – to deal with tax and cancel benefits.
  • Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – to cancel benefits.
  • Passport Office – to cancel a British passport.
  • Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – to cancel a driving licence.
  • The local council – to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register.
  • Any public sector pension schemes – to stop pension payments.

The Funeral

Investing in a pre-paid Funeral Plan is an increasingly popular option, and a good way of ensuring that your surviving partner is not faced with additional worries.

A typical plan includes:

  • The funeral director’s services.
  • Advice & guidance on all aspects of the funeral arrangements.
  • Advice on certification and registration of the death.
  • A simple coffin.
  • Cost of transport to XXXXX up to a maximum of £nnn – beyond that will have to be paid for.
  • Care of the deceased prior to cremation.
  • Cremation.
  • Hearse.
  • Doctor’s fees.
  • The “service” at the crematorium.

Park Home Rights of Occupancy

If you were living in your park home with a spouse, partner or other family member when they died, you can stay where you are. Be assured that the Written Agreement (between the deceased and the park home site owner) will automatically pass to you. Even if the home was gifted to someone else in a will, you cannot be evicted from your home, even if you are not named in the Written Agreement, and even if there is no will – you will automatically have the right to continue living there under the terms of the agreement. (Guidance: https://www.parkhomeassist.co.uk/inheritance-rules-for-park-homes )

Question: What happens to the Written Agreement?

Answer: When a residential park home occupier dies, their occupation agreement continues in full force and effect. Their rights and responsibilities under the agreement pass automatically to their widow or widower, provided they lived with them when they died. This will be the case even if the surviving spouse was not named on the agreement. If the occupier was not married, the agreement will pass to any family member who was living with the occupier when they died, and they will take on the rights and responsibilities under the agreement. They must continue to pay the pitch fee and maintain the home in good repair. They can also sell the home if they so choose.

Probate

Probate is sometimes needed to deal with a deceased person’s estate. The term ‘probate’ refers to a legal document that gives authority for the estate to be administered, including settling debts, selling or transferring assets and distributing inheritance to beneficiaries. The right to access things like a person’s bank account is called a “grant of representation” or sometimes called “a grant of probate” or even “letters of administration” or “letters of administration with a will”.

Question: I have Power Of Attorney – Do I still need Probate ?

Answer: There isn’t a yes/no answer – because Power of Attorney and Probate are not related. Power of Attorney immediately expires when the donor dies. Whether or not you will need a grant of Probate has nothing to do with whether or not the deceased donated any powers to someone else when they were alive. ( https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-sep-dec-2017/do-i-need-probate-if-i-have-power-of-attorney. )

Question: Does living in a Park Home have any bearing on Probate?

Answer: It depends entirely upon the circumstances, but it can reasonably be assumed that if :

  • You and your spouse or partner had joint ownership of the park home.
  • You were living together in the park home.
  • The will passed ownership of the home and other assets to you.
  • The deceased didn’t own any high value assets.

then it is unlikely that you will need probate.

However, if any assets were solely in one person’s name and held by a third party organisation (such as a savings account), then you will only know for sure when you approach that organisation. It is up to them what constitutes “high value” and hence whether or not they require a letter of probate in order to release the assets to you.

Things you DON’T need Probate for:

  • A shared current account at the bank.

Things you MAY need Probate for:

Things that were held only in deceased’s name, such as:

  • Deceased’s portion of shared investments.
  • A Building Society Savings Account
  • Pensions
  • Etc.

How to Apply for A Grant of Probate

You can apply for a grant of representation if you are an executor of the will – the person named to deal with the estate. Family can either help you, or do it for you, if they are also named executors. You can do it, or you can use a solicitor. Ask family advice.

To do it within the family, get these forms from the government website:

The worst part is working out the value of every asset the deceased owned. You can find helpful checklists available online for what to include, but essentially it could involve – for example:

  • 50% of the value of the house and contents.
  • The value of a car
  • The value of (deceased)’s portion of shared investments.
  • 50% of the value of a shared currrent account (with a statement of net & gross interest earned in the year in which death occurred – for tax return purposes.)
  • The value of the money in a Building Society Savings Account.
  • Other possessions: just make a fair assessment of the second-hand value.
  • The value of any jewellery, premium bonds or National Savings, tec.

Don’t forget to subtract debts from the total.

There should be no Inheritance Tax to pay if the deceased’s total estate is below £325,000 (or the current threshold, see: https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax ) You can transfer any unused threshold to a Spouse. Their threshold can then be higher.

When the forms are filled out, then send the application to a local Probate Registry. You should include in the application:

  • The probate application form PA1
  • The Inheritance Tax form
  • An official copy of the death certificate
  • The original will and 3 copies – and any codicils (additions or amendments to it)
  • The application fee of (£215 at time of writing) – a cheque made payable to HM Courts and Tribunals Service – there’s no fee if the estate is under (£5,000 at time of writing)

Swear an oath

The probate office will send you an oath and details of how to arrange an appointment. You’ll need to swear the oath at either the office of a commissioner for oaths (usually a solicitor), or a local probate office. The oath is a promise that the information you’ve given is true to the best of your knowledge.

You should get the grant through the post within 10 working days of swearing the oath.

Organisations to be contacted

Once the government organisations have been informed, and you have multiple certified copies of:

  • Death certificate
  • Grant of probate (if necessary)

then you can attend to the rest on a schedule to suit yourself. You should inform:

Pension providers

These are probably first in the list, because ideally you will want to stop payments immediately:

  • So that you don’t have to pay back any over-payment.
  • To claim any widow’s / widower’s pension(s).

Shared Current Account

You don’t normally need a grant of probate if the estate passes to the surviving spouse in the will, because it was held in joint names. So all you need to do (eventually, it’s not urgent) is change the name on the main (shared) current account into just your name. Usually they will only need to see the death certificate after it has been registered.

Phone the bank and get an appointment to see someone in the branch to get the changes made. Get them to confirm what they will need from you (such as, the death certificate and your personal ID – passport/birth certificate, or whatever.)

Credit Cards

If the deceased had different cards in their own name, you will need to go through a formal process for each one. The card provider may have a dedicated bereavement number you can phone. In either case, phone first to determine what their procedure is.

In some cases a Death Certificate and a covering letter may be sufficient, but they may ask you to arrange to meet a specialist and bring:

  • Two forms of identification, one showing your name, one showing your address.
  • The original Death Certificate.
  • Any passbooks, cards and cheque books.
  • Any Grant of Probate/Confirmation, Letter of Administration.

They can then help you to pay any outstanding balance and close the account. It will not affect your card.

Utilities (Gas, Electric, Water, Sewerage), Landline Telephone and Broadband

With the increasing tendency for accounts to be managed on-line, it may be necessary to contact the organisation and ask for their help to get an account in your name, and make arrangements that are convenient to you.

Vehicles

Transferring Car Ownership: If the deceased owned a vehicle, locate the V5C registration certificate for that vehicle. You need to:

  • Fill in section 6 ‘new keeper details’
  • Sign and date the ‘new keeper declaration’
  • Tear off and keep the green V5C/2 ‘new keeper’s supplement’
  • Send the V5C registration certificate to the DVLA Sensitive Casework Team. Include a letter explaining your relationship to the person who’s died and the date of death.

Sensitive Casework Team
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1ZZ

You should get a new registration certificate within 4 weeks of DVLA getting your letter and V5C.

Don’t forget to deal with any Breakdown Recovery services, etc.

House Insurance

Call your insurers and let them know what has happened. They will advise if any changes are necessary.

Card Protection Plan

You may have a “single phone call” style emergency service for lost/stolen cards, keys etc. If so, you should contact them and arrange for details to be amended.

Dentist

Call the practice and get (deceased) removed from their books, and get their advice as to what to do about canceling any Denplan or similar payments.

Mobile Phones

Phone services will cease soon after you cancel credit cards. If phone services were paid for from a shared account, you will need to contact them and explain the situation.

Deceased Preference Service

You can call 0800 068 4433 and register with them to remove a deceased’s name from mailing lists and databases. This helps to ensure you don’t get unwanted mail or phone calls.

Direct Debits / Standing Orders

Bank direct debits may need to be reviewed. Cancellations are probably best done by going into the branch by appointment.

Digital Legacy

Many people still forget to include the online world that is an increasing part of everyone’s life.

( Guidance: https://digitallegacyassociation.org/for-the-public/ )

Paypal account

Paypal are a bit more reasonable than many others and they will help, so although not strictly necessary, it would be polite to approach them, (because you will be stopping any Paypal direct debit with the bank), and before cancelling (deceased)’s credit cards. You can call Paypal on 0800 358 7911 and speak to an advisor. Tell them what has happened, and that you want to close the Paypal account.
They will probably ask you to fax copies of certain documents to them:

  • A cover sheet, providing the executor’s contact details (email address or phone number), stating that the account holder is deceased and that the account’s executor wants to close the account.
  • The death certificate of the account holder.
  • The page of the will that identifies the executor of the estate.
  • A government-issued photo ID of the executor.
  • A note specifying what to do with any credit that remains in the account.

Google account

Users of Google services should consider activating automatic inactive account management for any Google accounts held. This service is provided by Google, all you have to do is activate it.

You can arrange things such that if (deceased)’s Google account is inactive for 2 months, then (other named person) will receive an email warning that there is only 1 month left before automatic shutdown.

If no one logs in to the accout for 3 months then the account will automatically shut down, all data including emails, contact lists, reminders, calendar, and publicly shared data such as YouTube videos will be deleted. Once this is done, a confirmation email will be sent to (named person).

Amazon account

Amazon don’t have “inactive account management”, and they don’t make it easy to delete an account using just a telephone or written letters.

So, you should prepare beforehand, by ensuring that the only payment method associated with an Amazon account is a credit card that would be deactivated as part of your closing credit cards accounts belonging to the deceased.

That way, no transactions will be possible via (deceased)’s Amazon account, and any emails they send to (deceased)’s email address will bounce back to them with an “inactive” message, so you can just forget all about it.

Ebay account

Like Amazon, Ebay is only an online buying/selling venue. The account can just lapse into inactivity. You can be reassured, because even if someone (somehow) got hold of (deceased)’s login and password (very unlikely), they still couldn’t buy anything because by now (deceased)’s direct debits and credit cards have been cancelled by you.

Dropbox / cloud file storage

Can be allowed to lapse through inactivity. It will get deleted eventually.

Others

Any other on-line memberships etc. are incidental, and can just be allowed to “lapse” through inactivity.

Personal website

If the deceased had a personal blog / website that was paid for:

Hosting costs won’t get paid in future (unless they were paid from a shared account) – but – for your own peace of mind, it might be best to get any main site either updated to inform people that the person is deceased, or even deactivated if you don’t want people thinking that the person is still alive, and trying to make contact.

Facebook

A relative or friend can request for a Facebook profile to become memorialised. It essentially freezes the page in time. Whoever requests this service will have to give Facebook some proof, such as a death certificate. Photos and posts will stay visible. But no one can log in to the account anymore.

A Facebook user can nominate a “legacy contact”. This is someone to look after a memorialised account. The legacy contact can do things like write a pinned post, respond to new friend requests, and update the profile picture and cover photo. But they still can’t log in to the account – so they can’t delete anything.

Alternatively, you can request for a profile to be permanently deleted. But that means everything will be taken down.

Disposing of Computing Assets

Remember that computer hard drives will need to be thoroughly wiped (or even destroyed) before a computer can be disposed of / sold. If you don’t know how to do that, then consult an expert.

Smartphones and tablets usually have a “factory reset” procedure, which you can often find described on-line. You should remove the SIM card and do a “hard” factory reset before disposing of a phone or tablet.

Disposing of Other Assets

Once Probate has been granted (if necessary), and after any conditions of a legal will and/or other documented intention have been satisfied, then you are free to dispose of the person’s remaining assets in any way that wish.