Useful references

Property

Land Registry (England) http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/

Registers of Scotland http://www.ros.gov.uk/index.html

FUNERAL PAYMENTS

https://www.gov.uk/funeral-payments/overview

Eligibility
To get a Funeral Payment you must be responsible for the funeral and:

claim in time
get certain benefits or tax credits
meet the rules on your relationship with the deceased
The rules are different, if the person died outside the UK.

When to claim
You must apply within 3 months of the funeral. You can make a claim even if you’re waiting for a decision on a qualifying benefits.

Rules on your relationship with the deceased
You must be one of the following:

the partner of the deceased when they died
a close relative or close friend of the deceased
the parent of the still-born baby
the parent of the deceased child, if they were under 16 (or under 20 and not in full-time education)
If the parent is ‘absent’, you must be responsible for the child and the absent parent must get a qualifying benefit.

Benefits and tax credits
You (or your partner) must get one of the following:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Pension Credit
Housing Benefit
the disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit
one of the extra elements of Child Tax Credit
How much you get also depends on any other money available, eg from an insurance policy or the deceased’s estate.

If there’s a close relative of the deceased who isn’t getting one of the qualifying benefits you may not be able to claim Funeral Payment.




PUBLIC HEALTH FUNERALS (AKA Pauper's funerals)

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/22

Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984

Part III

Disposal of Dead Bodies

46 Burial and cremation.

(1)It shall be the duty of a local authority to cause to be buried or cremated the body of any person who has died or been found dead in their area, in any case where it appears to the authority that not suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the authority.
(2)Any council which is the local authority for the purposes of the M15Local Authority Social Services Act 1970 may cause to be buried or cremated the body of any deceased person who immediately before his death was being provided with accommodation under Part III of the M16National Assistance Act 1948 by, or by arrangement with, the council or was living in a hostel provided by the council under section 29 of that Act.
(3)An authority shall not cause a body to be cremated under subsection (1) or (2) above where they have reason to believe that cremation would be contrary to the wishes of the deceased.
(4)Subsections (1) and (2) above do not affect any enactment regulating or authorising the burial, cremation or anatomical examination of the body of a deceased person.
(5)An authority may recover from the estate of the deceased person or from any person who for the purposes of the M17National Assistance Act 1948 was liable to maintain the deceased person immediately before his death expenses incurred under subsection (1) or subsection (2) above, . . . F39.
(6)Without prejudice to any other method of recovery, a sum due to an authority under subsection (5) above is recoverable summarily as a civil debt by proceedings brought within three years after the sum becomes due.
(7)The Secretary of State may cause such inquiries to be held as he may deem necessary or desirable for the purposes of this section.
(8)The Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument direct that this section, in its application to the Isles of Scilly, shall have effect subject to exceptions, adaptations and modifications.