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End of Life

Death

When someone you love dies, it can feel very sad and confusing—even if you knew it was going to happen. On top of feeling upset, there are also lots of things you might need to do, and that can feel like too much.

It’s easy to feel lost or unsure of what to do next. But don’t worry—there are some clear steps you can follow to help guide you through.

From the day your loved one dies until everything is sorted out, there are a few important things to think about. These steps can help you stay calm, stay organised, and know what to do next.

When Someone Dies Leaflet gives you useful information for the first few days and weeks after someone has died. It talks about:

  • What you need to do
  • How you might feel
  • Where to get help

You’ll also find some phone numbers and services that can support you.

Below is a list to help you understand what to do, one step at a time, after someone has died.

When someone you love dies, it can be very hard to know what to do next. It might feel confusing or upsetting. While you wait to get the official papers from the doctor or hospital, there are a few things you can do if you feel ready.

One helpful thing is to look for any important papers that show what the person wanted after they died. These might include:

  • A Will (this says who gets what)
  • Funeral wishes (these might be in the Will or in a special funeral plan)
  • Birth or marriage certificates
  • Divorce papers (these show if they had a different last name)
  • Death certificates of a husband or wife who died before
  • Papers showing a name change
  • Papers about their pension or benefits (like their National Insurance number)
  • NHS medical card
  • Insurance papers
  • Bank or building society account details

If you can’t find the Will, it might be at the person’s solicitor’s office or their bank. Sometimes it is kept safe at a special office in London called the Principal Probate Registry. If it is there, you might find a paper that says where it is.

When someone dies, one of the first things that must be done is to tell the government. This is called registering the death. You must do this in person, and it should be done within 5 days after you are told by the registrar.

The person who gives this information is called the informant. Usually, this is a family member, but sometimes other people can do it too. It depends on where the person died.

If the person died at home or in a public place like a hospital, these people can register the death:

  • A family member
  • Someone who was there when the person died
  • The person who owns the house or a worker from the hospital
  • The person who is planning the funeral

 

Find out how to register a death in Leeds

If you find a Will, it might tell you what your loved one wanted for their funeral. This can be helpful because it means you don’t have to make all the choices yourself. But sometimes, what they asked for might be hard to do—maybe it costs too much money or isn’t possible.

It’s important to know that funeral wishes in a Will don’t have to be followed if they can’t be done. You should try your best, but doing the right thing doesn’t always mean doing exactly what was written.

Before you go any further, it’s a good idea to check if you’re the right person to carry on with these steps.

Funeral directors

Faith organisations

If you were in charge of the person’s money before they died, you might already know where everything is and what they owned. Sometimes, people are very organised and leave a folder or box with all the important papers in one place.

If you don’t have this, don’t worry. It might take a bit more time, but you can still figure it out. Start by looking through their papers to find out which bank or company they used. You don’t need to know if the account is still open—just finding the name is a good start.

You could look at:

  • A bank card in their purse or wallet
  • A bank statement
  • A bill for gas, electricity, or water
  • Or even try to remember if they talked about a certain bank

Every little clue helps!

When someone dies, there are lots of people and companies who need to know. This might feel like a big job, but telling them can stop you getting letters or phone calls that might be upsetting.

It can help to make a list of who you need to tell. You don’t have to do it all at once—take your time and ask others to help if you need to.

You should tell any companies or services the person used, like:

  • Their bank
  • Gas, electricity, water, phone, or internet companies
  • Insurance companies
  • Their doctor, dentist, or optician
  • Any services they paid for, like Netflix

If you’re looking after their money or home, ask the companies to close their accounts from the day they died. You’ll need to use their money to pay any bills they still owed. If you now own their home, you’ll need to pay the bills from the next day.

Tell Us Once Service

There’s a helpful service called Tell Us Once. It lets you tell lots of government offices at the same time, like:

  • The passport office
  • HMRC (for tax)
  • Other government departments

The registrar (the person who registers the death) will give you a special number to use this service. You can use it online at GOV.UK or call 0800 085 7308.

Stopping Unwanted Post

You can stop letters being sent to the person who has died by signing up for free with:

1. Mailing Preference Service (MPS)
This stops post from companies that send adverts.
Website: www.mpsonline.org.uk
Write to:
FREEPOST 29 LON20771
London W1E 0ZT
Phone: 0845 703 4599
Email: mps@dma.org.uk

2. The Bereavement Register
This helps stop post from other companies.
Write to:
Freepost
1 Newhams Row
London SE1 3UZ

It might take about 4 months for the post to stop. If the person signed up for things like magazines, you’ll need to tell those companies yourself.

If the Person Had a Car

You need to tell the DVLA (the car office) that the person has died.

  • If no one is using the car, you can register it as “off the road” with GOV.UK.
  • If someone else will use or sell the car, you need to update the car’s log book (called a V5C) with the new owner’s name.

 

A grant of probate is a special paper that gives you the legal right to look after someone’s money, house, and things after they die. If you are the person chosen to do this (called the executor), you will usually need to get this paper.

But sometimes, if the person didn’t have much money (usually less than £5,000), you might not need it. In that case, you can write to their bank or building society and ask if they will give you the money without needing the grant of probate.

Find out if probate applies at GOV.uk

Inheritance Tax is a tax that might have to be paid when someone dies. It is paid on everything they owned, like:

  • Their house
  • Their money
  • Their belongings

This is called their estate.

You usually have to pay Inheritance Tax if the estate is worth more than £325,000.

But sometimes, you don’t have to pay it—for example:

  • If everything is left to their husband, wife, or civil partner
  • If the estate is left to a charity or sports club
  • If the home is left to children or grandchildren, the limit can go up to £500,000

The person who is sorting out the estate (called the executor) uses the money from the estate to pay the tax to HMRC (the tax office). The people who inherit the money or things don’t usually have to pay the tax themselves.

You must tell HMRC (the tax office) when someone dies, just in case Inheritance Tax needs to be paid. You can check what kind of estate it is and if tax is needed on the GOV.UK website

Sometimes, the person who died still owed money. This could be from things like:

  • A bank account that went below zero (called an overdraft)
  • A loan or credit card they hadn’t finished paying

If there isn’t enough money left in their bank or from selling their things (called their estate), the people they owed money to usually can’t ask their family to pay it. The debt just stays unpaid.

But sometimes, the person might have had insurance that helps pay off their debts when they die. It’s a good idea to check for this.

If the debt was shared with someone else—like a joint bank account or a loan in two names—then the other person still has to pay what’s left.

Also, if you lived with the person who died, you might still need to pay bills for the home, like council tax or water.

If you needed to get probate (a special paper that lets you deal with someone’s money and things), you can now start sorting out what they owned.

You can:

  • Sell or move any things that only belonged to the person who died
  • But first, you must pay any money they owed (debts) and any tax called Inheritance Tax

Once all the debts are paid, you can give out what’s left:

  • If there’s a Will, follow what it says and give things to the people named in it
  • If there’s no Will, follow the law (called the Rules of Intestacy) to give things to their family

It’s really important to keep notes of all the money that comes in and goes out. This helps show that everything was done properly.

You’ll need to keep:

  • A copy of the Death Certificate
  • The Will (if there was one)
  • The Grant of Probate (if you needed it)
  • A list of all the money and things (this is called the estate accounts)
Last updated: 19/06/2025