What to do when someone dies

At Provals, we understand the challenges that come with the death of a loved one. We are here to provide specialised probate support and probate valuations, so you can focus on what’s important: honouring your loved one’s life and memory.

We have many years of experience in the probate industry and are dedicated to helping our clients navigate the complicated and emotional process of what to do when someone dies. Our team is here to support you, and make sure you have all the information and resources you need.

Registering the death

In England or Wales a person's death needs to be registered within five days. In Scotland, the time limit is eight days. This includes weekends and bank holidays

You will need to register the death at a Register Office. You can find out which office to contact via the following link that takes you to a Government database.

If the person died on a foreign ship or aircraft, you must register the death in the country where the ship or aircraft is registered.

To start the process you need to go to the Government's website by clicking the button below

Once registered, you will receive a 'Certificate for a burial' to pass on to the funeral director, or an application for cremation that you will need to complete and give to the crematorium.

You must do one of these before the funeral call be allowed to take place.

As with everything associated with dealing with Probate and Probate Valuation, Provals are happy to advise and help you every step of the way.

Bereavement Support

Coming to terms with the death of someone close to you is very difficult and often takes a long time to adjust to.

In addition to the trusted people and organisations that you probably rely on in your everyday life (Religious institutions, organised social groups, even coffee mornings!) There are organisation that provide specialised help and support including:

NHS advice on dealing with bereavement, grief and loss
Cruse Bereavement Support to learn more about the grieving process
National Bereavement Service for ways to manage grief
The Good Grief Trust for support if you are newly bereaved

You can also find someone to speak to about bereavement and how you are feeling at these organisations:

The Marie Curie Helpline for ongoing telephone support
Sue Ryder's Online Bereavement Support includes an online community to talk to others who are grieving, a video chat counselling service and personalised grief support by text message
At a loss for free live chat with a bereavement counsellor
Cruse Bereavement Support for local one to one support and group sessions

Citizens Advice has guidance about what happens after death and also about things you might need to do, depending on the circumstances

Please contact us using the form below, alternatively you are welcome to email or phone us.

Find Register Office

Tell banks, utility companies, the government, landlord etc.

The Government operates a system called 'Tell Us Once' that allows you to tell all the relevant government departments when someone has died. It's usually an online procedure, but if you are unable to use the internet you can also contact the government directly by phone.

To start the process, the registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service to you when you register the death. They will either:

complete the Tell Us Once service with you, or
give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself (or ask us to do it for you) online or by phone.

The registrar will also provide you with the phone number to call that also includes Relay UK. If you are a BSL user there is also a video relay service available for computers, tablets and mobiles.

Please note that the Tell Us Once service must be used within 28 days from when you receive the unique reference number.

Click the button below to go to the relevant section of the government's website.

Banks, Utility Companies etc.

Most banks, utility companies, building societies and other institutions (including plc's if the deceased invested in shares) have dedicated teams that deal with bereavement - we find them very helpful and friendly, and although they have to deal with legal paperwork they understand that you're trying to manage a very difficult time, so are patient and understanding.

As we work alongside these institutions on a daily basis we are more than happy to represent you and help remove some of the stress.

The majority of banks, building societies and insurance companies are registered with a free service called Death Notification Service that once they are given the deceased's details informs all institutions, and the ones that hold accounts for the deceased will write to you within about 10 days. With your permission we are able to manage this for you, receiving the documentation they send out and make sure it is completed and returned.

Please click the button below to go to the service.

Other institutions you may need to contact

We are often asked to search through a deceased's home to locate any important or official documentation, cash, paperwork, etc. so that service suppliers (Broadband, phone, maintenance contracts, etc) can be identified, and then contacted to update their records.

There is an almost endless list of service and product suppliers and only research will identify them all. We frequently unearth obscure information that needs acting upon. A recent example was when we were instructed to work on behalf of an executor and located 66 bank and building society accounts, the majority of which the executor and the deceased's family knew nothing about. We also found two commercial investment buildings for another estate that the deceased had never told anybody about!

Once we have been instructed to work on behalf of the executors we create an extensive Excel spreadsheet that catalogues everything and becomes the source document for all information, contacts, finances etc which we can share online, or in printed format with the executors so they are kept fully up-to-date with progress. We undertake in-depth research that usually turns up something interesting!

Contact us below for an informal chat so we can offer some free initial advice and guidance which will enable you to decide how you want everything to proceed. There is no obligation to instruct us at this stage, we're just helping out.

Tell Us Once service

Death Notification Service

Arrange
the funeral

A funeral can usually only take place after the death has been registered. You can either pay a funeral director to make the arrangements for you, or you can do it yourself (or a mix of both if that is better for you)

If you choose to use the services of a funeral director try to select one that is a member of either:

Both organisation have codes of practice and they should be able to provide you with a price list.

There are also specialist associations that run alternatives such as non-religious or natural burials:

Some local councils also run their own funeral services. Please contact the relevant council directly for guidance.

If you want to arrange the funeral yourself please contact the relevant service provider such as a Cemetery or the Crematorium Department at the local council.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

funeral directors fees
services that a funeral director usually pay for on your behalf (Usually identified as 'third-party costs' or 'disbursements'). Examples may include crematorium or cemetery fees, local newspaper announcement about the death and the funeral details
local authority burial or cremation fees

Please ask funeral directors to list all services and associated costs in their quotation. We advise you to get quotes from two or more funeral directors as prices can vary, and also to see what is available if you are making the arrangements within a budget.

Paying for the funeral

There are a couple of ways by which a funeral can be paid for:

from a financial scheme that the person had, for example a pre-paid funeral plan or an insurance policy
by you, or other family members or friends (providing there are sufficient funds in the estate you should be reimbursed for any costs once probate has been granted, so keep accurate records, receipts etc

If you think you will have difficulty paying for a funeral from your own funds you can apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment through the government at Funeral Expenses Payment.

Moving a body for a funeral in another country

If the person died in another country you will need a coroner's permission to move the body to another country for a funeral. You will need to apply at least four days in advance of when you want to move the body.

You can find a local coroner by searching the Coroners' Society of England and Wales website.

There are different processes in Scotland and Northern Ireland:

Check if you are entitled to bereavement benefits

You might be entitled to financial help for dealing with various post-death situations. Please click the relevant link/s below:

Please also speak to the local council as they may be able to advise you about other schemes, or charities that are able to offer support, both financial and emotional.

Dealing with your own taxes, pension and benefits

Your tax, pension and benefit claims might change depending on what your relationship was with the person who died.

Your tax and National Insurance may be affected as your income will probably change after the death of your partner.

If you receive extra income from things like annuities, pensions, an inheritance or state benefits you may need to pay more tax. If you've lost your partner's income its possible you may now be on a lower income in which case you might be required to pay less tax.

Also, your tax allowance - the income you do not pay tax on - may also change.

Reportable income

You will need to tell HMRC if you get:

interest from a bank, building society or NS&I products such as capital bonds or pensioner income.
income from letting out a property
foreign pension payments
Carer's Allowance
income from Life Annuities
Widowed Parent's Allowance or Bereavement Allowance
other income that should be, but has not been taxed

You do not need to tell HMRC about:

income from a private pension
income whish does not get taxed such as an Individual Savings Account (ISA)
income on which your employer pays tax for you through PAYE (See any payslips to verify this)
any income if you will reach State Pension age on within four month
if you are receiving Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Incapacity Benefit, Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or any Bereavement Support Payments,

If you are registered for Self Assessment you should update HMRC in your next Self Assessment tax return.

For people born before 6 April 1935, HMRC will automatically adjust Married Couple's Allowance after the current tax year ends and you will then get just your own Personal Allowance.

Blind Person's Allowance

If your partner was claiming Blind Person's Allowance you will need to ask HMRC to transfer the remainder of the current tax year's allowance to you. They can be contacted at:

HMRC Blind Person’s Allowance enquiries
Telephone: 0300 200 3301
Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm
Saturday, 8am to 4pm

Reduced National Insurance

If you're a widow who was married before April 1977, you might be paying reduced National Insurance. You might be able to continue paying at the reduced rate, contact HMRC to find out what to do.

Valuing the Estate and checking if
there is Inheritance Tax to pay

To find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay, you need to estimate the value of the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who died.

Most Inheritance Tax has to be paid before you can apply for a Grant of Probate, although there are a few exceptions, predominantly relating to residential property.

HMRC recognises that in cases involving residential property there are often financial reasons why the IHT cannot be paid within the usual timescale (Generally six months from the date of death) so they can agree for this portion of the IHT to be paid in instalments over a period of up to ten years. Please remember that they will still charge interest on any outstanding IHT, but there will be no fines or other penalties providing the agreement is kept to.

How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax, and report its value

Identify the deceased's assets and debts.

Assets include things like bank accounts, savings and pensions, as well as property, household goods and personal items.

Debts include things like utility bills, mortgages and money owed on credit cards. They also include funeral expenses, such as the cost of a funeral director, a headstone or plaque and refreshments.

You’ll then need to:

find out which organisations to contact (you can do this by searching through the deceased’s papers or asking friends, family and any solicitor or accountant they had)
write to these organisations asking for the value of the asset or debt when the person died (you’ll need to include a copy of the death certificate)

Which organisations to contact

Organisations that hold a person’s assets often include:

their bank
their pension provider - ask if you should include any private pension when you value the estate
their employer - the person may be owed wages
any companies they held shares in - include the number of shares, company details and the share certificate number (if you have it)
National Savings and Investments (NS&I) for Premium Bonds - use the free tracing service if you cannot find certificates
other organisations that hold assets like ISAs, shares, investments or assets in a trust
their landlord, if they had one - the person may have paid rent in advance

In your letter to the bank, also ask for:

any standing orders and direct debits to be stopped (or transferred if they were in a joint name)
a list of any share certificates or deeds they were holding for the person who died

If the person had a mortgage

Ask the mortgage lender if they require payments to continue while you’re applying for probate. If they do, you need to either:

pay these bills yourself - and reclaim them from the estate once you’ve got probate
check if the person had a life assurance or mortgage protection policy that covers these payments

Estimate the estate's value

You need an estimate of the estate’s value (the deceased’s money, property and possessions), to find out if there’s Inheritance Tax to pay.

The estate will not have to pay tax as long as one of the following applies:

it all passes to the spouse or civil partner of the person who died
it all passes to a charity or a community amateur sports club
it has a value below the Inheritance Tax threshold of £325,000

If the person who died was widowed or is giving away their home to their children, the tax threshold can be higher.

Working out your estimate

You need to estimate the total value of the estate. This includes:

the value of the things the person owned (their assets) on the day they died
any gifts they made, such as cash or items of value, in the 7 years before they died
the value of any trusts where the person had a beneficial interest

At this stage, your estimate only needs to be accurate enough for you to know if the estate owes tax. You’ll need accurate valuations if the estate owes any tax.

You can work out the estimate yourself or you can use the Governments online Inheritance Tax checker.

The checker will:

give you an approximate value of the estate
help you decide whether any Inheritance Tax is likely to be due or not

The checker does not:

calculate the amount of Inheritance Tax that’s owed
tell HMRC about the estate’s final value

Valuing the assets

Start by listing the person’s assets - the things the person owned with a monetary value.

These may include:

their home
any other properties, buildings or land
money in banks, building societies or ISAs or cash in their home
stocks and shares
household and personal items, including furniture, paintings and jewellery
cars, caravans or boats
foreign assets, such as property abroad
money they’re owed, for example wages or refunds from household bills
payments when they died, for example life insurance or a lump sum ‘death benefit’ from a pension

Then estimate the value of each on the date the person died including anything left to the person’s spouse, civil partner or a charity - you will not pay tax on these assets.

For items such as jewellery, paintings or other household goods, work out how much you would have got if you’d sold them on the open market. You can use online marketplaces to help work out their value.

It is important to be realistic in your estimations. HMRC are very experienced at spotting undervalued assets and threat such occurrences extremely seriously. If you have any concerns or doubts Provals have close to 60 years joint experience valuing estates and are happy to work for, or alongside you - it is far better to pay us than risk the wrath of HMRC!

Please contact us for more information by completing the form below, phoning, or emailing us.

Apply
for Probate

You might need to apply for probate before you can deal with the property, money and possessions (the ‘estate’) of the person who has died.

What is probate?

Probate is obtaining the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die.

You should not make any financial plans or put property on the market until you’ve got probate.

Check if probate is needed

Contact the financial organisations the person who died used (for example, their bank and mortgage company) to find out if you’ll need probate to get access to their assets. Every organisation has its own rules.

You may not need probate if the person who died:

only had savings
owned shares or money with others - this automatically passes to the surviving owners unless they’ve agreed otherwise
owned land or property as ‘joint tenants’ with others - this automatically passes to the surviving owners

Only certain people can apply for probate. It depends on whether there is a will as to who can apply.

If there is a will, the executor/s named in it can apply
If there is not a will the closest living relative can apply

You will need the estimated value of the estate to apply for probate, and you can then apply online or by post. Since the Covid Pandemic it is taking much longer to obtain a grant of probate, typically 10 weeks for online applications and at least 4 to 6 weeks longer for postal applications (Estimates as of July 2023)

Click here to start an online application

If you need any support or advice to apply to apply for probate contact:

Courts and Tribunals Service Centre
Telephone: 0300 303 0648
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Closed on bank holidays

Applying by post

There are two different forms,:

If there's a will, fill in form PA1P

If there's not a will, complete form PA1A

If you need printed copies of the above forms call the Probate Helpline on 0300 303 0648

If you’ve reported the full estate to HMRC, before applying you must:

start paying Inheritance Tax, if there is any
wait 20 working days after sending the tax forms to HMRC

Deal with the Estate - bequests,
dispersal and disposal.

As a personal representative (an executor or administrator) you’re legally responsible for the money, property and possessions of the person who died (the ‘estate’s assets’).

You’re responsible for the assets from the date of death until the date everything has been passed on to the beneficiaries. This is known as the ‘administration period’.

During the administration period you may have to:

pay any debts left by the person who died
sell assets such as properties or shares
pay tax on any income the estate generates
report the estate value, income and tax liability to HM Revenue and Customs

You can get professional legal advice and help, such as from a solicitor, to deal with any estate. You should consider this if the estate has a lot of assets or includes things like trusts. We are happy to introduce you to solicitors that we have been working alongside for many years.

If you’re dealing with the estate with someone else (for instance, joint executors) and you’re not the only personal representative you should agree with the others:

where to hold financial assets - you can set up a bank account known as an ‘executorship account’ if needed
rules on making withdrawals or payments from any accounts connected to the estate
what assets you need to sell and when

Settling debts and taxes

You must pay any debts and settle the taxes for the person who died. This includes:

paying any unpaid bills
paying any unpaid personal taxes
applying for tax refunds
filling in a Self Assessment return if needed for the person that has died
repaying any overpaid benefits

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will tell you what taxes are owed or if any tax refunds are due if you use the Tell Us Once service.

Place a notice in The Gazette giving any creditors 2 months to claim anything they believe they are owed. Do not distribute the estate’s assets until the 2 months is up. If you do and the estate then cannot afford to pay a debt, you may have to pay it yourself.

Selling shares or property

If you sell shares, investments or property that belong to the estate you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax on them if either:

they’ve gone up in value since the person died
they’ve gone up in value since being valued for Inheritance Tax

You do not pay Capital Gains Tax from the estate if you transfer assets directly to a beneficiary, for example property.

Savings, dividends or other income

Some assets can continue to generate income after the death until you transfer or sell them. This could include:

rental income from property
profits and payments from the person who died’s trade or business
interest or dividend payments on savings, shares and other investments

You must work out and pay Income Tax on the full amount of income the estate receives between the day after the death and the date everything has been distributed.

Estates do not get any allowances on savings, income or dividends. Estates pay tax at the basic rates of 8.75% on dividends and 20% on any other income.

We hope you found this guide useful. There is a huge amount of work involved after a person dies, and because it is something you do not deal with on a regular basis, or perhaps, have never had to deal with it can all be very confusing and seem to be impossible to understand and manage.

At Provals we are happy to provide help, guidance and assistance in general terms and will always recommend you consult a solicitor for anything more specific that we are unable to advise you on. Please contact us using the form below, phone or email.

Please let us know what you need

Please contact us using the form below, and we will be in touch shortly.

Alternatively, you are welcome to email us at contact@provals.com or call us on 01432 655085

Office: 01432 655 085
Mobile: 07718 528888

contact@provals.com