Registering a Death

tigtag02

clairehi wrote: »

Tigtag, sorry for your loss.

I registered my father's death recently and although the birth certificate was not needed, they did ask for his NHS card which they kept. Im sure if we hadnt had it, it wouldnt have been a major problem though.

We were asked Dads details ie date/place of birth, occupation etc and also my Mums as well as his spouse, which I wasnt prepared for - wasnt sure whether she would want to be put down as housewife so had to ring her and check which was less than ideal.

hope all goes ok on Monday.

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned this as I actually have that!!

Mum wasnt married to step dad even though they have been together a million years and EVERYONE thought they were so I'm not sure if his details will be needed.

Thanks to all though, I cope much better when I *know* stuff

appologies to j-baby if I seemed to snap at you.

nearlyrich

Tigs if your mum died in hospital they should have given you a booklet which gives you all the information about registering the death etc.

Usually you can pick up the forms from the hospital the working day after the death and as someone has said you need to make an appointment to register the death at the registry office.

Your undertaker if you have appointed one might be able to help with making the appointment, they can't pick up the deceased until the regitration of death has been done as there is a form for the undertaker given by the registrar,

I hope you are OK, it's very frustrating when you can't get anything done, sending hugs your way.

j-baby-scotland

tigtag02 wrote: »

Oh, I'm glad you mentioned this as I actually have that!!

Mum wasnt married to step dad even though they have been together a million years and EVERYONE thought they were so I'm not sure if his details will be needed.

Thanks to all though, I cope much better when I *know* stuff

appologies to j-baby if I seemed to snap at you.

Please don't apologise to me... two & a half years since I lost my mum myself, feels like just yesterday...

I was a tad insensitive, didn't realise.

Condolences.
x

tigtag02

nearlyrich wrote: »

Tigs if your mum died in hospital they should have given you a booklet which gives you all the information about registering the death etc.

Usually you can pick up the forms from the hospital the working day after the death and as someone has said you need to make an appointment to register the death at the registry office.

Your undertaker if you have appointed one might be able to help with making the appointment, they can't pick up the deceased until the regitration of death has been done as there is a form for the undertaker given by the registrar,

I hope you are OK, it's very frustrating when you can't get anything done, sending hugs your way.

I just have so many things swimming around in my head and am so frustrated that I cant do anything.

I am going to call the undertaker again tomorrow, I know he cant do anything yet but I need to get balls rolling. He has to collect her from 200 miles away :rolleyes:

Thanks NR ~ I know you are going through the same and your support means a lot.

zzzLazyDaisy

Hi Tigs sorry for your loss. My sister died 200+ miles away, and had to be collected. I don't know if it is the same now (that was 2001) but it meant that we couldn't have open coffin or viewings as the embalming has to be done within 24 hours (or something like that) and, like you, there was a few days' delay because of a weekend.

Re registering the death - you need to take the form confirming the death, that the hospital will give you, to the registrar. When I registered the death I had to make an appointment, so phone first to check.

There may be bank accounts, insurances and other stuff that needs dealing with. They will all want to see a certified copy of the Death Certificate issued by the registrar. Sometimes they take a copy and send it back, but sometimes they keep it. Even if they send it back it can be weeks before you get it back. The registrar will ask you how many copies you want and it is easier to get several copies rather than going back for extra copies later. When my mum died there were lots of little insurances, small bank accounts, a post-office account and various other bits and bobs. I got 7 copies and found that I needed them all.

Will you be dealing with the estate?

If there is property involved, or large sums, you will need to register probate - don't be put off it is easy and the people at the probate office are lovely and very helpful, they are used to dealing with recently bereaved people.

If there is no property and only small sums your should be able to sort things out just by lodging a will and death certificate, but each organisation is slightly different and you will need to contact each one for advice on what to do.

Keep coming back for advice if you need to - lots of us have been through this.

Hugs

Daisy

kizzykizzywizzy

Tigtag I registered my Mum's death on my own, the day they brought the new system in & the computer went down, so had to do it twice, with a frustrated registrar, who kept tutting at the computer, not fun, but it has to be done & I wanted to do it to keep myself busy, I didn't need a birth certificate. I took a handwritten copy of the death certificate away with me, but had to have the other 5 or so copies sent on later, due to the system problems. I was probably as you are, getting frustrated as you just want things sorted & out of the way, so you can grieve.
Something I did ask the funeral directors for, was a lock of my Mum's hair for my Dad to keep, which was quite nice & something you may not have thought of.
I imagine you are exhausted, grief does that to you, so try & take care of YOU:o sending big hugs

tigtag02

Thanks guys ~ I love the idea of a lock of her hair and I have a locket so that would be perfect.

I dont know if we will go to probabte ~ there is a house with a HUGE mortgage and 3 months in arears ~ I was gonna contact the back to take it back, its been on the market for a year and nothing!!

There is no will.

There are debts after debts after debts but no money. All in joint accounts to my step dad (who she isnt actually married to so I am the next of kin).

To add to the mess he is physically and mentally incapciated and Im not even sure he understands mum has gone.

So, I think the one word to sum it up would be *mess* :rolleyes:

zzzLazyDaisy

Tigs, I'm sorry to hear things are such a mess.

As you know everything in a joint bank account automatically goes to the sole survivor - your step dad. It does not go into the estate and the debtors can't claim any of the money.

They may also try to get you to pay the debts yourself (this happened to me when my sister died - she was in a council flat and when I notified them that she had died, they insisted that she still had to give them a month's notice. I dropped the keys off and told them to whistle).

The bottom line is that any debts in the deceased person's sole name can only be paid out of the estate. If there is no money the debt dies with the person, though you may have to provide accounts to show there is no money.

Any debts that are in joint names with your step-dad (does this include the mortgage?) pass completely to the survivor who is then solely responsible for paying off the debt. However, as your step-dad is so disabled, you may be able to persuade the creditors to write off the debt as it is probably not worth chasing him for the money. Again, you may need proof of his disability such as a letter from his doctor/consultant.

Hope things go okay for you tomorrow

Hugs

Daisy

floss2

Tigs, I'm sorry for your loss.

Can i suggest that when you send anything off to banks / DSS / tax office / DVLA etc, that you send it recorded or guaranteed next-day post. Then it has to be signed for and is traceable.

Also, for anyone that needs a copy of the death certificate, it will have to be a certified copy (that is, one from the Registrar's Office) and not a photo copy. They may take the original away & photocopy it so they can give you the original back but they will then stamp and/or sign their copy to certify it. This happened when we went into banks to close an account - Barclays, Nationwide & Halifax in 2005 anyway.

:grouphug:

tigtag02

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

The bottom line is that any debts in the deceased person's sole name can only be paid out of the estate. If there is no money the debt dies with the person, though you may have to provide accounts to show there is no money.

Any debts that are in joint names with your step-dad (does this include the mortgage?) pass completely to the survivor who is then solely responsible for paying off the debt. However, as your step-dad is so disabled, you may be able to persuade the creditors to write off the debt as it is probably not worth chasing him for the money. Again, you may need proof of his disability such as a letter from his doctor/consultant.

Hope things go okay for you tomorrow

Hugs

Daisy

Thanks Daisy, your post answers lots of questions and yes the mortgage is in both names, in 3 months of arrears and not selling which is why I plan to tell the bank to reposess.

I will be speaking to the GP about a letter for something else in the morning so I may get him to send me a few and take up your suggestions.

Today was horrid, but I think something I needed to do to accept things.

Thank you for your kind words

floss2 wrote: »

Tigs, I'm sorry for your loss.

Can i suggest that when you send anything off to banks / DSS / tax office / DVLA etc, that you send it recorded or guaranteed next-day post. Then it has to be signed for and is traceable.

Also, for anyone that needs a copy of the death certificate, it will have to be a certified copy (that is, one from the Registrar's Office) and not a photo copy. They may take the original away & photocopy it so they can give you the original back but they will then stamp and/or sign their copy to certify it. This happened when we went into banks to close an account - Barclays, Nationwide & Halifax in 2005 anyway.

:grouphug:

Again, more thanks to another wonderful MSE'r ~ I got 10 copies, just in case :o:o