Personal

Telling People About The Death

SOLVING PERSONAL LEGAL MATTERS

View less

Telling the Executors about the death

If the person who has died left a Will which does not appoint you as an executor, but you know the people who are appointed executors, make sure they know about the death.

You and the executors can then decide who is to register the death, if this has not already been done, and who is to arrange the funeral.

If you have registered the death and obtained copy death certificates but you are not an executor, hand the copy certificates over to the executors or their solicitors.

If you are not going to deal with the DWP, hand over the form relating to social security benefits too.

If the executors are arranging the funeral, give them the certificate for burial or cremation.

If, because you cannot find a Will, you do not know who the personal representatives are, you can still arrange and hold the funeral.

Solicitors

You may need to contact the solicitors of the person who has died soon after the death to ask if they have the Will and to find out who the executors are. For more information and to find out how to search for a Will click here.

If there is a Will

If they have not contacted the solicitor before the funeral, the executors should do so soon afterwards and arrange a meeting.

For guidance about the papers and information to take to the meeting, see the list below of documents to look for before meeting solicitors.

The executors take on a heavy personal responsibility and most prefer to remove that risk by employing a solicitor. To speak to a solicitor click here.

This can either be by the traditional way of administering the whole estate or by using the solicitor as a consultant and to prepare the key documentation while they do the more routine work.

If there is no Will

If the person who has died seems not to have left a Will, then one or more of the person's closest relatives (wife, husband or civil partner, father or mother, brother or sister, son or daughter) should contact a solicitor for advice.

The solicitor can help with further searches for the Will and explain what to do if the person is intestate.

Bank or building society

Tell the bank or building society where the person who has died had a current account about the death.

Private landlord or local authority

If the person who has died was a tenant living in rented accommodation, tell the landlord or local authority about the death.

If the accommodation was shared and the remaining occupant was not a co-tenant but wants to stay in the property, the landlord may be willing to make a new rental agreement with the remaining occupant.

The remaining occupant may find it helpful to get guidance from a solicitor or the CAB before approaching the landlord.

Employer

If the person who has died was in employment at the time of the death, tell the employer's HR department about the death.

It is best to do this soon after the death to speed up the process of paying out any salary due to the estate and lump-sums from a pension scheme.

DVLA

Contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to cancel the driving licence of the person who has died and to request that the registration details of his or her car are amended.

Alternatively, use the DWP's Tell us once service if it is available in your area.

If anyone is going to drive a car that belonged to the person who has died, check that they are adequately insured.

Passport Office

Look for the passport of the person who has died and return it to the UK Identity and Passport Office so that it can be cancelled.

Alternatively, use the DWP's Tell us once service if it is available in your area.

Utility companies and other service providers

The providers of services to the home must be told about the death. For example:

Utility companies supplying gas, electricity and water
Broadband, phone and satellite TV providers
The Television Licensing Authority
The local Council Tax authority
Suppliers of other regular services, such as gardening and cleaning.

If the suppliers addressed their bills to the person who has died, tell them about the death and, where appropriate, arrange for them to take meter readings as close to the death as possible.

If someone else is going to go on living in the property, contact the supplier to arrange for the account to be transferred into that person's name if they want to go on receiving the service - or arrange to switch to another supplier.

Remember that direct debits from a bank or building society account of a person who has died, including direct debits to utility suppliers, are cancelled when the bank or building society hears about the death.