What to do when someone dies
If you are reading this in the first few days, we are sorry. There is a short list of things that need doing now. Nearly everything else can wait — and it is meant to.
There is less of a rush than you think.
A death has to be registered, and if there is to be a funeral, someone needs to arrange it. That is genuinely most of it for the first fortnight.
The bank accounts, the paperwork, the house, the probate application — none of that is running to a clock. Nobody is keeping score, and no one will think less of you for taking weeks over it. If all you manage today is one phone call, that is enough for today.
The first week or so
Five things, roughly in this order. You will not have to work any of it out alone — the register office and the funeral director do this every day and will walk you through it.
1. Wait for the medical certificate
A doctor or, if the death has been referred, a coroner or procurator fiscal confirms the cause of death. In England and Wales every death that isn't referred to a coroner is now reviewed by an independent medical examiner. They will talk to you about the cause of death, send the certificate to the register office, and let you know when you can book an appointment. You don't need to chase any of this.
2. Register the death
You register at a register office, usually in the area where the person died. Take any paperwork you have been given, and their details — full name, date and place of birth, last address, occupation. You will be offered certified copies of the death certificate. Most people order several, because banks, pension providers, and insurers each want to see one. Between four and ten is typical.
3. Tell the people who were closest to them
There is no right way to do this, and no script. Many people ask one or two relatives or friends to pass the news on, so they aren't making twenty phone calls in a day. That is a completely reasonable thing to ask for.
4. Speak to a funeral director, if you are having a funeral
There is no legal deadline for a funeral in the UK. You can take a few days to decide what you want, and you are allowed to ring more than one funeral director. They must give you a standardised price list, so you can compare costs without having an awkward conversation about money.
5. Use Tell Us Once, if it is offered
When you register the death in England, Scotland, or Wales, the registrar will usually offer Tell Us Once. It reports the death to HMRC, the DWP, the local council, DVLA, and the Passport Office in one go. In Northern Ireland the service is not available, so those departments need contacting individually.
How long you have to register
The deadline depends on where in the UK the death happened.
England & Wales
Within 5 days
The five days run from when the medical examiner or coroner contacts you, not from the date of death.
Scotland
Within 8 days
You can register at any registration office in Scotland, not just the local one.
Northern Ireland
Within 5 days
Register at a District Registration Office. Tell Us Once is not available, so departments are contacted separately.
If a coroner or procurator fiscal is looking into the death, registration waits until they have finished. That is normal, and it is out of your hands.
What can wait
People often exhaust themselves in the first month doing things that would have been just as easy in the third.
This can all wait
Weeks, or months. Whenever you have the room for it.
- Going through their things
- Clearing or emptying the house
- Closing accounts and cancelling subscriptions
- Working out what the estate is worth
- Applying for probate or confirmation
- Deciding what happens to the home
- Thank-you cards and acknowledgements
- Any big decision about your own life
Sorting through belongings is the one people feel most guilty about postponing. There is no hurry. Things keep.
The only clocks actually ticking
Here so nothing catches you out later — not because you need to do anything today.
Inheritance tax, if any is owed
Due by the end of the sixth month after the month of death. Most estates pay nothing at all — the threshold is £325,000, and anything passing to a husband, wife, or civil partner is exempt.
Bereavement Support Payment
If your husband, wife, or civil partner died, claim within 3 months to receive the full amount. You can still claim up to 21 months afterwards, but you get less.
Probate or confirmation
No legal deadline at all. Some banks freeze accounts until a grant is issued, which is the usual reason people start — not because a clock is running.
The executor’s year
Executors have twelve months before beneficiaries can ask for their share. It exists precisely because this takes time. You are not behind.
Funeral directors do more than the funeral
They are often the most useful people in the first fortnight, and much of what they do costs nothing.
A good funeral director will explain what happens next, tell you exactly which documents you need for the register office, and take care of bringing the person into their care. Many will sit with you and talk it all through before you have committed to anything.
They also know their area. Ask them about local bereavement groups, counselling services, and charities — signposting families is part of the job, and most keep leaflets and contacts to hand.
On cost: UK funeral directors must give you a standardised price list, so you can compare on paper rather than in conversation. You are allowed to ask, allowed to compare, and allowed to take a few days.
A good place to start reading
If you want one calm, free website that covers all of this in more detail, we would point you to whiteballoon.
whiteballoon
Funeral planning, end-of-life information, and bereavement support
whiteballoon is a UK site with plain-English guidance on what to do when someone dies, planning a funeral or a celebration of life, and living with grief afterwards. Everything on it is free, and you do not need an account to read it.
- A printable checklist of what to do when someone dies
- Free planning tools for keeping ideas and details in one place
- Guidance on funerals, burials, cremations, and celebrations of life
- A bereavement section linking to support groups, helplines, podcasts, and blogs
If you need someone to talk to
All of these are free, and none of them will think you are wasting their time. You do not have to be in crisis to call.
Cruse Bereavement Support
Free bereavement support in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland — by phone, email, and in person.
Cruse Scotland
The separate Scottish charity, offering a helpline and one-to-one support across Scotland.
AtaLoss
A searchable directory of more than a thousand UK bereavement services, plus a free live-chat counselling service.
Marie Curie
A free support line and practical information for anyone facing a death or living with grief.
Child Bereavement UK
Support for families when a child dies, and for children grieving someone close to them.
WAY Widowed and Young
A peer support network for anyone widowed at or under the age of 50.
Your GP can also refer you to local bereavement counselling, and many employers offer free confidential counselling that you may not know you have.
Grief takes the time it takes
There is no correct order of feelings and no finishing line. Plenty of people find the third month harder than the first week, once the phone stops ringing and everyone else has gone back to normal.
Birthdays, anniversaries, and the first Christmas often arrive louder than expected. None of that means you are doing this wrong, or slowly, or badly.
If the paperwork sits untouched for a month, it sits untouched for a month. It will still be there, and it will still be doable, when you have the room for it.
Common questions
When you are ready — not before
At some point, usually a few weeks in, the practical side comes round. If you have been named as executor, or you are the next of kin sorting things out, that is what we built EstateCopilot for.
It knows where you are
England and Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland — the right terms, the right forms, the right thresholds, without you having to check.
One next step at a time
Rather than a wall of forty tasks, it shows you the one thing worth doing next, and why it matters.
The forms, mostly filled in
PA1P, PA1A, and the Scottish C1 are completed from what you have already told us. You check them, sign, and send them off.
One fixed fee of £279 for the whole estate, rather than an hourly rate. Have a look now, or bookmark this and come back in a month. It will keep.
If you want to read a bit further
Notifying organisations after a death
Free services that tell banks, government departments, and mailing lists for you.
Do I need probate?
A short assessment that tells you whether a grant is needed at all.
Do I need confirmation? (Scotland)
Scotland's version of probate, and when the Sheriff Court needs to be involved.
The estate administration guide
The whole process end to end, for whenever you are ready to look at it.
EstateCopilot is software, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. For a contested will, a large or complex estate, or assets held abroad, speak to a solicitor.
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