Next steps after death.

slackgarry

Mother has just died, and im confused.

Are there anytips you could give me please on the process.

She is widowed and the house is payed for out right, she has a small pension form my late father. Accounts with HSBC and Santander presume i can use the "Daeth Notification Service" for the last two.

Just anything really,

Thanks very much for any help.

p00hsticks

slackgarry said:

Mother has just died, and im confused.

Are there anytips you could give me please on the process.

She is widowed and the house is payed for out right, she has a small pension form my late father. Accounts with HSBC and Santander presume i can use the "Daeth Notification Service" for the last two.

Just anything really,

Thanks very much for any help.

So sorry for your loss. 
Your head must be whirling, but you can take your time with most things.

When you go to register the death, you will be given a link to the Tell Us Once service. This lets you notify all the relevant government departments of her death - DVLA, DWP, HMRC, local council etc. 

But that doesn't include banks and utility companies - you'll need to contact them individually to let them know. Most large companies have specialist bereavement departments - look for their contact details and I found to be very sympathetic and trained to talk you through what needs to happen, 

The one thing you do need to address quite quickly if the house is no left empty is the house insurance company - you need to let them know. They will probably continue to offer cover, at least for the duratino of the existing cover, but may impose some extra conditions such as checking the house every so often. 

kipsterno1

Sorry for your loss.

First of all take a breath and don't think you have to do everything in one go.

Make a list of tasks and people who you will need to speak to / inform. Spreadsheets are  useful for recording everything. When you do contact banks, utility companies and the like always go via the bereavement team contact number they have a better level of knowledge generally. 

If you can get current utility meter readings. 

bunnygo

I am sorry for your loss. As above, the only urgent things are:

1) to register the death - use the 'tell us once' service which will save you a lot of work. Give them your address and all the relevant government departments will be in touch; they will sort out stopping pension, tax etc. Five copies of the death certificate will be plenty as lots can be done online now. You will also need this to arrange funeral.

2) secure the house - contact the insurers, ask for the bereavement team and they will help you.

3) if there is a car in her name, secure that; again, contact the insurers and ask for the bereavement team. Don't drive it until you have done this, as the death of the policyholder invalidates the insurance.

The death notification service is 'tell us once' for financial institutions: https://www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk/ All her accounts will be frozen - utility companies etc will just have to wait for their payments until you have probate.

be kind to yourself, one day at a time.

elsien

Did she leave a will and are you the executor? 

Sarahspangles

The gov.uk page is a good place to start. https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies
We found that we needed to focus on getting to and through the funeral, so all that we prioritised before that was making sure the house was secure, disposing of food in the fridge and removing any valuables to safekeeping. We also put away very personal things like spectacles, walking sticks and coats to make it easier when we did need to tackle the house.