What to Do When Someone Dies: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. First 24–48 Hours: What to Do Immediately

There is no single “right” way to respond to a death. Give yourself permission to grieve. The admin can wait — except for a small number of things that genuinely need to happen quickly.

If the death was expected (at home or in a care home)

Call the deceased's GP to confirm the death. The doctor will issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) — you'll need this to register the death. If the death happened at night or over a weekend, an on-call doctor will attend.

Contact a funeral director. You don't need to make any decisions immediately, but the funeral director will take care of collecting the body and can guide you through the next steps at your own pace.

If the death was unexpected or the cause is unclear

Call 999. The police will attend and, where necessary, refer the death to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland). This can delay the registration process — sometimes by several weeks — but you will be kept informed.

2. Registering the Death

In England and Wales, you must register a death within 5 days. In Scotland, you have 8 days. If the coroner or Procurator Fiscal is involved, this timer pauses until they issue a certificate.

Where to register

You register at the local register office for the area where the person died — not where they lived. You can find your nearest office on GOV.UK or mygov.scot. Most offices require an appointment.

Who can register

Registration can be done by a relative, someone who was present at the death, the occupier of the building where the death occurred, or the person arranging the funeral.

What to bring

• The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (from the GP or hospital)
• The deceased’s NHS medical card (if you can find it — not essential)
• The deceased’s birth certificate, marriage certificate, or passport (if available)

What you'll receive

After registration, the registrar will give you:

• A death certificate (you can request multiple copies — order at least 4–6)
• A Certificate for Burial or Cremation (the “green form”) — required before a funeral can take place
• A BD8 form for notifying DWP (benefits/pension) — complete this and post it

3. First Week: Immediate Practical Steps

The first week is about managing the essentials and making the funeral arrangements. Don't feel pressure to handle everything at once.

4. First Month: Essential Admin

After the funeral, reality sets in. This is often when the administrative burden feels heaviest. You're grieving, and yet there are forms to complete, organisations to notify, and accounts to sort out. Work through it steadily, a few tasks at a time.

Financial and legal priorities

• •Find the will and identify the executor. If there’s no will (dying “intestate”), the estate will be distributed according to intestacy rules — these differ between England/Wales and Scotland.
• •Open an executor’s bank account if you’re handling a larger estate — this keeps estate funds separate.
• •Notify banks and building societies of the death. They will freeze individual accounts (this is normal). Joint accounts typically remain accessible.
• •Contact HMRC to notify them of the death and understand any tax obligations.
• •Check for life insurance and contact the insurer to begin a claim.
• •Notify pension providers. Workplace and private pensions may have death benefits or nominee payments.

Property and housing

• •Notify the mortgage provider if the property had a mortgage — some have life insurance attached.
• •Notify the landlord if the deceased was renting (you’ll need to give notice).
• •Redirect their post (Royal Mail offers a redirection service) — useful for catching bills or correspondence.

Benefits and government

• •Contact DWP if they were receiving any state benefits — Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Carer’s Allowance, ESA, PIP.
• •Contact the State Pension office if they were receiving a State Pension.
• •You may be eligible for a Bereavement Support Payment if your partner died — check on GOV.UK.
• •Contact the local council about Council Tax — you may receive a single person discount or exemption.

5. First 3 Months: Probate & Estate Settlement

If the deceased left property, significant savings, investments, or a complex estate, you'll likely need probate (called Confirmation in Scotland) — the legal process that gives you authority to administer the estate.

What to do in months 2–3

• •Value the estate — get a property valuation, check bank statements, gather pension values, and list assets and liabilities.
• •Apply for a Grant of Probate (or Confirmation in Scotland). In England and Wales, applications go through the Probate Registry. In Scotland, you apply to the Sheriff Court.
• •File an Inheritance Tax return if the estate is above the threshold (£325,000, or up to £500,000 with the residence nil-rate band). You have 6 months from date of death to pay before interest accrues.
• •Notify remaining creditors — utilities, credit cards, subscriptions you haven’t yet contacted.
• •Begin collecting in assets once you have the Grant of Probate or Confirmation.
• •Distribute the estate to beneficiaries according to the will (or intestacy rules).

6. Who to Notify: A Complete List

This is one of the most time-consuming parts of bereavement admin. The list below covers the main organisations — though every estate is different.

7. Probate in Plain English

“Probate” (or “Confirmation” in Scotland) is just the legal term for getting official permission to deal with a deceased person's estate.

Do you need probate?

Not always. You typically need probate if:

• The deceased owned property in their sole name
• They had significant savings or investments (most banks require probate for balances over £15,000–£50,000)
• They held stocks or shares

You typically don't need probate if:

• —All assets were jointly owned (they pass automatically to the surviving owner)
• —The estate is small (under ~£5,000 in each institution)
• —All assets are held in trust

How long does probate take?

Straightforward applications typically take 4–8 weeks to process. The full estate administration — from death to final distribution — usually takes 6–12 months for a typical estate, and longer for complex ones.

Do you need a solicitor?

No — many executors handle probate themselves, particularly for simpler estates. The GOV.UK probate guide walks through the process clearly. In Scotland, see mygov.scot. However, if the estate involves disputes, overseas assets, a business, or complex Inheritance Tax, professional legal advice is worth the cost.

8. Emotional Support Resources

The administrative burden of bereavement is real. You are not weak for finding this hard. It is hard. Here are some organisations that offer genuine support:

Bereavement counselling & emotional support

For specific circumstances