What To Do When Someone Dies

What to do when someone dies

When someone dies there are many practical issues that need to be sorted out. If you are the person who was closest to the deceased person, a lot of the responsibility may fall to you. This can be overwhelming, especially when you are dealing with grief and shock at the same time. Some people appreciate having lots of practical tasks to do when they’re bereaved. Others find that they just can’t cope in the immediate period after losing a loved one. .

Death in hospital or a care home

When someone dies in hospital or a care home: the staff will contact the person named by the deceased as the ‘next of kin’. They will arrange for the nearest relative to collect the deceased person’s belongings.The hospital mortuary will keep the body until the executor (a personal representative of the deceased) makes arrangements for it to be taken away. You may also want to inform the deceased’s minister of religion or see the hospital chaplain.

Before a death can be registered, a doctor will need to issue a medical certificate giving the cause of death

In hospital, the hospital doctor will give you:

the certificate in a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages

a notice explaining how to register the death

If the cause of death is not clear, the coroner will carry out an investigation before issuing a death certificate.There is no charge to register a death or for the death certificate.

If the person has not been seen by a hospital doctor, their GP may be able to issue a death certificate instead. Where a cremation is planned, a second doctor will be needed to sign a certificate to say that the body has been examined.

Death at home

When someone dies at home, the first step is to call the GP. The GP will normally visit the house and if the death was expected, issue a certificate giving the cause of death. If the person did not have a GP or you do not know the name of the GP, you should call an ambulance instead. A doctor is not allowed to issue a certificate if they are unsure about the cause of death. The death must instead be reported to a coroner and the body will be taken to a hospital mortuary, where a post mortem may need to take place.

Death abroad

When someone dies abroad, the death must be registered according to the law of that country. The death should also be reported to the British Consul, who may be able to arrange for the death to be registered in the UK as well. Returning a body to the UK is expensive, but the cost may be covered by any travel insurance taken out by the person. If the death was on a package holiday, the tour operator should be able to help with arrangements.

When a body is returned to the UK, the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the district where the funeral will take place must be told and will need to issue a certificate before burial can take place. If cremation is planned, the Home Office also needs to give permission.

Registering the death

The registration of the death is the formal record of the death. It is done by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages at the Register Office in your local area.

When someone dies at home, the death should be registered at the register office in the district where they lived.

If the death took place in hospital or in a care home it must be registered at the register office for the district in which the hospital or care home is situated. The hospital administrator can do this if there are no relatives.

A death should be registered within five days, but the deadline can be extended for another nine days if the registrar is told that a medical certificate has been issued. If a post mortem is being carried out, you can’t register the death until the coroner’s investigations are finished.

It is a criminal offence not to register a death.

The death should be registered in person by one of the following (in order of priority)

a relative who was present at the death
a relative present during the person’s last illness
a relative living in the district where the death took place
anyone else present at the death
an owner or occupier of the building where the death took place and who was aware of the death
the person arranging the funeral (but not the funeral director)

If none of these options are possible, contact the Register Office for advice.

You must take the medical death certificate with you because the death can’t be registered until the registrar has seen this. If possible, you should also take the person’s NHS medical card and birth and marriage certificates.

The registrar will ask you for the following information

the date and place of death
the full name of the person and their last address
the person’s date and place of birth
the person’s occupation and, in the case of a woman who was married or widowed, the full name and occupation of her husband
if the person was still married, the date of birth of their husband or wife
whether the person was receiving a pension or other social security benefits

When you have registered the death, the registrar will give you a certificate for you to give to the funeral director or whoever is arranging the funeral. This allows the burial or cremation to go ahead. The registrar will also give you a form to send to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to allow them to deal with the person’s pension and benefits. The death certificate is a copy of the entry made by the registrar in the death register. You may need several copies of the certificate as it is needed to deal with money or property left by the person, including dealing with the Will.

Who to inform?

Following a Bereavement it is important that the affairs of the deceased are all settled. If left unchecked, outstanding bills, benefits and credit cards can add unwelcome pressure and stress during a difficult time.

Tell us Once Service

In the past, a grieving relative may have had to spend hours on the phone, often having to repeat the same information to different departments and organisations. The Tell Us Once service means you only need to tell the government once of the bereavement and you won’t have to send a copy of the death certificate in the post. The service will notify local and central government services of the death on your behalf, including:

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deal with tax and cancel benefits
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel benefits, eg income support
Passport Office to cancel a passport
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
the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to cancel the deceased’s driving licence.

Once you have registered the death, the Registrar will tell you about your options for using Tell Us Once. These are:

Who else should I inform?

You should ensure that the following people and agencies are informed of the death, if relevant. If you use the Tell Us Once Service you do not need to inform the agencies marked with an asterisk*:

Relatives and friends
Employer
School
Solicitor/accountant
Landlord or Local Authority if the deceased rented their property
Any private organisation/agency providing home help
General insurance companies such as, contents, car, travel, medical
Pension providers/life insurance companies
Bank/building society
Mortgage provider
Hire purchase or loan companies
Credit card providers/store cards
Utility companies if accounts were in the deceased’s name
TV/Internet companies with which the deceased had subscriptions
Any other company with which the deceased may have had rental, hire purchase or loan agreements
Royal Mail, if mail needs re-directing
The Bereavement Register
Deceased Preference Service to remove the deceased’s name from mailing lists and databases
Clubs, trade unions and associations with seasonal membership for cancellation and refunds
Church or regular place of worship
Social groups to which the deceased belonged
Dentist
Creditors or anyone to whom the deceased owed money
Debtors or anyone that owed the deceased money
The deceased’s Tax Office
National Insurance Contributions Office if they were self-employed to cancel payments
Child Benefit Office
UK Passport Agency, to return and cancel a passport
DVLA, to return a driving licence, cancel car tax, return car registration documents and/or change ownership
Local Authority if the deceased paid Council Tax, had a parking permit, was issued with a Blue Badge for disabled parking, received social services help, or attended day care

The following documents should be returned, with a note explaining the date of death:

Order books/benefits
Passport
Driving licence
Registration documents for the deceased’s car
Season ticket and membership cards of any clubs or associations as a refund may be due
Benefit/pension books and any unused cheques/vouchers should be returned to the benefits office
Library books and tickets
National Insurance papers

The Money Advice Service has information on how to deal with money matters after someone dies, including what to do with someone’s pension, tax, debts, insurance, benefits and estate.

Check your benefits is a telephone service that lets you

Bereavement benefits include the following benefits

Bereavement Support Payment
Child Benefit if a child or parent dies
Get help with funeral costs (Funeral Expenses Payment)
Guardian’s Allowance
Support for child funeral costs (Children’s Funeral Fund for England)
Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave
Universal Credit
War Widow(er) Pension
Bereavement Allowance
Widowed Parent’s Allowance

Arranging the funeral

There are many different types of funerals to choose from and financial help may be available. You should always consider what the preferences of the deceased person may have been when arranging a funeral.

Arranging a funeral for detailed information on arranging a funeral, costs and memorials.

Funeral Services Guide offers advice and information on official procedures for dealing with a death.