What to do when someone dies

If someone dies without a Will, their ‘estate’ (property, money and any valuables) are distributed according to the rules of intestacy.  

The rules can be quite complicated, and may mean the person’s estate is not distributed in the way they would have wanted (so it’s important to put a Will in place to ensure your wishes are met). People who are married or in a civil partnership can still inherit under the rules of intestacy, as can children – but children will only inherit a share if the estate is over a certain value, otherwise it may all go to the person’s partner, if they had one. 

If you are on certain benefits, you can apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment to help with the costs. However, this would then be deducted from any inheritance you got from the person’s estate.  

If someone dies in poverty and they have no family, they may have a Public Health Funeral, also known as a Pauper’s Funeral. If someone dies and they do have next of kin, but those people refuse to pay for the funeral, they will be asked to make a written statement saying so, before a Public Health Funeral can be provided. 

If the death is suspicious or unexplained, then you will need to. Otherwise, a doctor can confirm the death. 

This is usually the person’s next of kin, or perhaps the executor of the Will, if different. 

If someone dies abroad, you should content the British Embassy. Their death will need to be registered with the local authority in the country they died. You may need to repatriate the body (that is, bring it back to this country), which can be expensive. This will require permission from the country in which they died, and an English translation of the death certificate. 

Even if the funeral happens overseas and the person is cremated, to bring their ashes back to this country you will normally need the death certificate and certificate of cremation, perhaps to show at Customs. You should also inform the airline you are flying with and you should use a non-metallic urn and expect to take it on board as hand luggage. 

If the bank account was a joint account, it will usually transfer to the other person.  

For a single account, when you inform the bank that the person has died, their account will be ‘frozen’ (that is, money cannot be put in or taken out and the account cannot be closed) until probate is granted. 

Probate is the legal process that gives someone the authority to manage the estate of someone who has died – and typically it involves confirming the person’s Will first. You can apply for probate for someone’s estate on the Government website or by post.