Losing someone close to you can be a confusing and devastating time, so having to deal with practical matters shortly afterwards can feel overwhelming.
There is advice and support available to help you navigate this difficult time, and we’ve shared some tips and starting blocks below:
Registering the death
Registering the death of a loved one is one of the most difficult things that any of us will have to deal with – and it may feel difficult knowing where to start.
We’ve shared a few pointers here:
You can register a death at a local registry office by booking an appointment, as long as you have the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD). Your hospital or doctors’ surgery may, in some cases, send the MCCD straight to the registrar, so check with them about this.
According to the Bereavement Advice Centre, it can be useful to take the following along with you to the appointment – or as much as you can find:
- NHS card (also called the medical card)
- Birth certificate
- Driving licence
- Council tax bill
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate (if applicable)
- If possible please take the National Insurance number of the deceased and the number of a surviving spouse or civil partner.
- Passport
- Proof of address (e.g. utility bill)
The registrar may then need the following information about the deceased:
- Date and place of the death
- The address of the person
- Their full names (including the maiden name of a married woman). Any former married names or other names by which the deceased was known can also be recorded.
- Where and when they were born (the town or county is sufficient if the exact address is not known). Only the country of origin is required for people born outside the United Kingdom. The country is recorded according to its current name if this is different from how it was known at the date of birth.
- Their occupation
- Details of their wife or husband or civil partner
- Whether they had any government pension or other benefits.
Usually the registrar would then give you a death certificate, as well as a green certificate to pass on to the funeral director. You can pay for copies of the death certificate, which can come in useful down the line when dealing with the estate.
Planning a funeral
Planning a funeral service or celebration of the life of a loved one plays an important role in helping bereaved families move through the grieving process.
You may already have spoken with your loved one about their funeral plans, or they may have set out their wishes in their Will or written them down somewhere else. It’s worth initially establishing this, which will help as a starter when planning what they wished for.
The best place to start from there, whether they’d made plans or not, is by speaking to a local Funeral Director who can show you options available. Once you’ve agreed, you will then need to hand them the green certificate, which confirms you’ll be going ahead.
Meeting the cost of a funeral can be a worrying time for many families, especially where no provision has previously been made to meet the costs.
The funeral director will be able to help advise on individual arrangements for paying for funeral costs. If you get benefits, you might be able to get help to pay for the funeral of a partner, close relative, close friend or child you were responsible for.
You can check if you can get a Funeral Expenses Payment on GOV.UK.
The government’s Social Fund and Bereavement Benefit may not be the only form of financial support available to you if you need to cover the cost of a funeral. Some Charities may hold an excess to help the families of the deceased, particularly those who have succumbed to a specific illness, or have previously served in the armed forces.
Some organisations and Trusts offer practical support with paying bills, clearing energy debts and provide funds to support financial hardship as a result of having to meet funeral costs.
Dealing with estate plans
Following the funeral, you may need to deal with your loved one’s estate.
The Department of Work and Pensions offers a ‘Tell Us Once’ service which allows you to inform central and local government services of the death at one time, rather than approaching each service individually. Find out more about that here.
Remember, we are here for you during this difficult time. If you have experienced the loss of a loved one and would like our guidance and support, please call our Support Line on 0800 389 8820 and speak to a member of our team who will do their very best to help you and put you in touch with our Welfare team.