What to do when someone dies

When someone dies many decisions and arrangements have to be made at a very stressful time.

Some of these can be done by close relatives or friends; some have to be done by the people appointed by the deceased to carry out the terms of the will.

The following documents and information should be obtained as soon as possible.

These will enable the death to be registered and the funeral arrangements made. They will also be needed in the longer term when applying for probate.

Documents

• A medical certificate stating the cause of death and signed by a doctor
• National Insurance number
• NHS Number or NHS Medical Card
• Birth certificate
• Marriage or civil partnership certificates
• Child benefit number
• Tax reference number

Information

• The deceased’s full name
• Any previous names/maiden names
• Date and place of birth if birth certificates not available
• Last address
• Occupation
• Date of marriage/civil partnership if certificates not available
• Name, address and date of birth of surviving spouse/civil partner
• Whether deceased was receiving state pension or other benefits
• Organ donor card (if applicable)
• Religion (if applicable)

In England and Wales a death is normally required to be registered within five days. This is normally done at the register office in the area in which the deceased died.

Who should register the death?

A death is normally registered by a relative, but can also be registered by:-

• Someone present at the death
• An occupant of the house in which the death occurred
• An official of the hospital in which the death occurred
• The person making the arrangements with the funeral director

If the death did not occur in a house or hospital the following can also register

• The person who found the body
• The person in charge of the body

Usually, however, a registrar will only allow others to register if there are no available relatives.

You should take with you as much of the above information and documents as you have.

What will the registrar do?

If a post-mortem is not required the registrar will issue:-

• A Certificate for Burial or Cremation (the ‘green form’). This gives permission for burial or cremation and is required by the funeral director.
• A Certificate of Registration of Death (form BD8). This is issued for social security purposes if the deceased received a state pension or benefits.

The Death Certificate will be available to buy at this point. There is no standard price. Several copies should be purchased.

The death certificate will be required to enable the executors or administrators to deal with the deceased’s estate.

If there is to be a post-mortem or if the death is referred to a coroner the registration will be delayed.

What else should be done?

• Tell everyone who needs to know.
• Arrange an appointment with the deceased solicitor to read the will. This will state who the executors are, and if the deceased left any specific funeral requests.
• Start arranging the funeral.

A funeral can be by burial or cremation but can only take place after the death has been registered.

The will should be checked to ascertain if the deceased had any wishes either about the funeral or what should happen to their body. The executor does not have to comply with the deceased’s wishes.
If the will makes no reference the executor /administrator and relatives will decide on the funeral arrangements.

A funeral can be arranged with or without a funeral director.

Whoever arranges the funeral is responsible for payment.

Funeral and burial fees vary from local authority to local authority.

Payment can be made in different ways, such as:

• With money from the deceased’s estate
• By any prepaid funeral scheme the deceased was a member of
• With any payout from life insurance or pension plans

The deceased’s bank account will be frozen from the date of death (unless it is a joint account). Some banks may agree to pay the funeral costs from the deceased’s account, but they are not under an obligation to do so.

A relative or executor may have to pay for the funeral and claim back the cost from the estate later.

For those on low income it may be possible to get a Social Fund Funeral Payment from the Benefits Agency. If a Funeral Payment is made, it will have to be paid back out of the deceased’s estate.

At this point it should be considered whether a Grant of Probate or a Grant of Letters of Administration is needed.

A Grant of Probate is obtained when a person leaves a valid will. The will normally appoints one or more executors to deal with the deceased’s affairs after death. It is the executors who apply for the grant. The grant is the legal document confirming that the executor has the authority to deal with the deceased persons assets.

A grant is almost always needed if the deceased leaves one or more of the following:

• More than £5,000.00
• Some types of insurance policies
• Stocks and shares
• Land (including their house) which is in their own name or held jointly with someone else as ‘tenants in common.’

The banks, building societies, insurance companies and the Land Registry will not be able to deal with a transfer of these assets without a grant.

A grant may not be needed where:

• The deceased left less than £5,000.00
• They owned everything jointly with someone else and everything passes to surviving owner automatically.

A Grant of Probate will not be issued until any Inheritance Tax that is due from the estate has been paid.

A Grant of Letters of Administration is obtained when a person dies without leaving a valid will. In such a case the person is said to have died ‘intestate’.

In this case the deceased has not appointed anyone to look after his or her affairs after their death. The law has rules as to who can apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration, and therefore deal with the deceased person’s estate, and how the assets will be divided. These rules are known as the Intestacy rules.

Please see the separate notes showing how the rules apply.

Once Letters of Administration are granted the person(s) who obtained the grant are known as the ‘administrator(s)’. The administrators can deal with the estate in the same way as executors.

Letters of Administration may not be needed if the deceased’s estate is below £5000.00 and does not contain any land, property or shares or if the whole estate is held jointly with someone else and automatically passes to the surviving owner

Obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration can be complex and time consuming. At Gorman Hamilton we can advise and assist you in all aspects of Estate Administration, Inheritance Tax planning and the type of will appropriate for your needs.

If you need any further advice or information then please contact our Wills and Probate Department for further information.

Telephone 0845 3024760 or Email wills&probate@gormanhamilton.co.uk