Do you need information about who needs to be informed when someone dies? We look at the information you'll need to hand and who to inform when someone dies.
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It can become mentally and financially taxing on family members when someone dies. Managing the deceased's estate, arranging a funeral and navigating the various legal processes are challenging. If you wonder who needs to be informed after a person dies, this article is for you.
Information You'll Need To Hand
Before contacting family members and local authorities, you should ensure you have some essential documents to hand. You'll find the process much easier and can register the death much quicker when you have this information.
You should have a copy of the following information from the deceased person:
- NHS Number
- The person's date and place of birth
- National Insurance Number
- Child Benefit Number
- Tax Reference Number
- Date of marriage or civil partnership
- Bank account details
The more personal or financial information you can collect on the deceased person, the better. There are online platforms like the Tell Us Once service that allows you to update government departments and most local authorities all at once about the death of a loved one.
Who To Contact Straight Away?
If a person dies abruptly, there can be a significant amount of paperwork to complete to register the death and inform the relevant parties.
The family doctor and Registrar's Office should be the first people you inform unless the death has already been documented to by the Coroner. In most cases, the doctor or hospital will forward the medical certificate confirming the cause of death to the General Register Office. Your contact details (or the next of kin) may be on this document so they can contact you.
Secondly, you should find and read the will of the deceased. In the likely situation you do not have a copy, contact the deceased's solicitor. Once the will has been acquired and read, you should contact the assigned executor. This will be the person allocated in the will to sort out the affairs and ensure the estate covers funeral payments. This isn't always the nearest relative to the deceased, and sometimes, one is not named. The executor will begin making funeral plans following the strict rules they adhere to.
Of course, you should contact relatives and family members of the deceased to inform them of the situation.
Hopefully, at this point, the death will be registered by the registrar, and they will provide a certificate for burial or cremation to the funeral director. You can buy a death certificate for around £15 from an online registration office.
If you have a low income or find yourself struggling with finances after the death of a loved one, you should contact the DWP bereavement benefits scheme. This was established by the Department for Work and Pensions, giving surviving spouses or civil partners financial support for the care of children after their partner's passing.
When Someone Dies Unexpectedly
If you were not expecting the death of someone, the process is a little different and can take longer to reach the funeral. In such situations, income support can be provided by DWP and your local council as a last resort.
Funerals are typically paid by the person's estate (the collation of their total belongings) or their insurance policy, so ask your executor. The Money Advice Service can also be contacted for support when arranging a funeral.
A coroner must be reported to immediately, with a doctor and lawyer investigating the unexpected death. A post-mortem will be conducted to determine the cause of death.
Your nearest register office will require updating to officially register the death and receive a death certificate. Government services have been established to make this process as simple as possible.
If they died unexpectedly, you might have to inform the GP, doctor, optician and anyone else providing medical care yourself.
Who Do I Inform When Someone Dies
Firstly, the family members and friends should be informed about the person who died. Educational establishments and health professionals should be informed next, ensuring there are no outstanding hospital or dental appointments.
Financial organisations
All banks and building societies connected to the deceased must be contacted, ensuring there is no outstanding debt that must be paid. To avoid fraud, you should also contact pension providers, credit card providers, and other accounts held solely by the deceased. You may need to contact the insurance company involved with the individual too.
The most important thing is to cancel payments and ensure there is no debt when the estate is settled. You can receive some financial help to pay off various expenses until then.
For example, contact the National Insurance Contributions Office for self-employed individuals. There will be many financial institutions that the deceased's account details are attached to. If you are in a joint account, you can typically still access the account as the other holder. All general insurance companies for car, travel and medical insurance should be contacted on behalf of the deceased.
Property and utilities
If the deceased lived alone, contact the society mortgage provider. The estate may have to pay for any unsecured debt, but your executor will know what to do in such situations. Inform all local authorities, housing associations and private landlords of rented properties.
If you don't already jointly own the gas, water and telephone accounts, be sure to contact all utility companies to ensure the details are transferred, and all bills are paid for. If you are unsure of the local authority to contact in situations where the deceased rented a property, you can always contact the estate agent first.
Government organisations
Your local council will have many of the following details and procedures ready for when someone dies, so you can also reach out to them first. Most government organisations have an allocated webpage to update them on the passing of an individual. If the deceased were receiving benefits, contact the Pensions Service or JobCentre to inform them of the change. DWP may be paying DWP benefits still, so you must ensure these stop immediately.
To remove such benefits, like State Pension, you will require their financial information and their contact details. HM Revenue and Customs will update all tax and applicable child benefits. The same should be done with Land and Property Services (LPS) to cancel Housing Benefits associated with the deceased. Electoral registers, council tax offices, bus passes and disabled parking permits must be updated and returned where applicable.
If the deceased drove a car, you will need to reach out to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to return the driving licence and cancel the car tax. Car registration documents may require a change of ownership where you desire to keep the vehicle. The UK Identity and Passport Office will need you to update them and return the passport.
Other contacts
For the other contacts, these will be more trivial things you are likely to forget. Redirection of posts and clubs and memberships of the deceased that they were a regular member of are common examples. If unwanted mail is becoming a burden, contact the Bereavement Register.
If the deceased owed money to an individual, this might have to wait until the executor has unlocked the estate. Priority debts will be paid off first before the property and personal belongings can be accessed, with the bank account potentially being frozen. The executor will ensure all funeral directors and funeral costs are paid before allowing other such payments.
There will be more people and other organisations to contact as you progress, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. In most cases, family members will forget to update worship social groups, trade unions and other social settings. Mailing lists and online forums are also easy to forget.
The most important rule is to update as many people as soon as possible, but there are support systems in place for you.
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