What to do when someone dies

If someone has just died, you don't have to read all of this now. The next section covers what needs doing first, and the rest can wait until you're ready.

In the first few days

The first steps depend a little on where the person died. In hospital or a care home, staff will guide you. If the death was expected and happened at home, call the person's GP. If it was unexpected, call 999.

GOV.UK explains the process in England and Wales like this:

1. 1The person's doctor confirms the death and contacts the medical examiner. This can take a few days.
2. 2A medical examiner, a senior doctor who wasn't involved in the person's care, checks the cause of death.
3. 3The medical examiner's office contacts you to explain the cause of death and answer questions.
4. 4They tell you when you can register the death.

Sometimes a death is reported to a coroner, often when the cause isn't clear. That can change the paperwork and the timing, and the coroner's office will tell you what happens next.

While you wait, it can help to tell close family, look after any pets, and lock up the home if it's now empty.

Register the death

You have 5 days from the medical examiner's confirmation to register the death, or 8 days in Scotland, and weekends and bank holidays count. If you need longer, tell the register office straight away.

The registrar will give you:

• A certificate for burial or cremation, often called the green form. Your funeral director needs this before the funeral can go ahead.
• A Tell Us Once reference number, if the service is available where you are.
• The chance to buy death certificates.

Banks, insurers and pension companies usually want to see an official copy of the certificate, so it's worth buying several. Copies from the General Register Office cost £12.50 each in England and Wales.

Tell organisations about the death

Tell Us Once reports the death to most government organisations in one go, including HMRC, the DWP, the Passport Office, the DVLA and the local council. Your reference number expires after 28 days. The service covers England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.

You'll still need to contact these yourself:

Ask each one what they need from you. Keep a simple list of who you've told and when, because you'll be asked more than once.

Arrange the funeral

Check first whether the person left instructions or paid for a funeral plan. The will, a letter of wishes or local funeral directors may be able to tell you.

You can arrange a funeral yourself or use a funeral director. GOV.UK points to two trade bodies, the National Association of Funeral Directors and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors. Some councils run their own funeral services too.

If you're finding the funeral hard to pay for and you get certain benefits, you may qualify for a Funeral Expenses Payment. It can help with burial or cremation fees and up to £1,000 of other costs, though it won't usually cover everything. You must apply within 6 months of the funeral. Scotland has its own Funeral Support Payment.

Check what support you can get

If your husband, wife, civil partner or a partner you lived with has died, you may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment. It isn't means-tested, and it's for people under State Pension age whose partner paid enough National Insurance or died because of their work.

You must claim within 3 months to get the full amount, and you usually can't claim at all after 21 months.

Find the will and deal with the estate

Look for the will once the most urgent things are done. It may be at home, with a solicitor or at a bank. It names the executors, who are responsible for the estate. If there's no will, the closest relative can usually apply to deal with it.

Each of the main steps from here has its own guide:

• Work out what an executor has to do.
• Find out whether you need probate.
• Secure the home and read about clearing a house before probate.
• Put a realistic figure on the contents of the house.

None of this needs to be finished quickly. The two firm dates to keep in mind are registering the death and, if it applies, Inheritance Tax, which must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death to avoid interest.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland gives 8 days to register a death and has its own process for the estate, called confirmation. Tell Us Once doesn't cover Northern Ireland, so you'd need to contact organisations there directly. The rest of the practical order is much the same.

Common questions

Who can register a death?

Usually a relative registers the death. If there isn't one, the medical examiner's office or the register office can tell you who else is able to. If you can't get there within 5 days, tell the register office immediately.

How many death certificates do I need?

It depends how many banks, insurers and pension providers the person used. Many organisations accept a certified copy and return it, but having several lets you deal with them at the same time.

Do I need to tell the bank straight away?

Soon, but it needn't be on the first day. Tell the bank once you can, because it will freeze the person's sole accounts and explain what it needs to release the money. Joint accounts usually pass to the surviving holder.

What should I do first when someone dies at home?

If the death was expected, call the person's GP. If it was unexpected, call 999 and follow the instructions you're given. Don't move the person until you've been told you can.

Can the funeral happen before the death is registered?

Normally no. The funeral director needs the certificate for burial or cremation, which comes from registering the death. If a coroner is involved, they'll explain what happens instead.

Sources

• GOV.UK: What to do after someone dies
• GOV.UK: Tell Us Once
• GOV.UK: Arrange the funeral
• GOV.UK: Order a death certificate
• GOV.UK: Funeral Expenses Payment
• GOV.UK: Bereavement Support Payment
• GOV.UK: How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax

This guide is general information for people in England and Wales. The rules in Scotland and Northern Ireland can differ. It isn't legal, tax or financial advice, and Sortwell isn't a law firm or a valuer. If an estate is complicated or there's a disagreement, talk to a solicitor. Figures were checked on the date above.