What to do when someone dies

Losing a loved one is an incredibly difficult thing to go through, so we’ve created this free guide to help make things a little bit easier.

Prefer to talk to a specialist about your situation? We’re here from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm to help.

0203 318 3029

Step 1

Get a medical certificate

The first thing you need to do after someone dies is get a medical certificate detailing the cause of death. If the person died in a hospital, this should have been given to you by a member of staff. If they died at home, you’ll need to call their GP to get a medical certificate.

Step 2

Register the death

The next step is to register the death and get a death certificate. This usually needs to be done within five days and only takes around 30 minutes, but it can be delayed if there’s an inquest into the death. Find your nearest register office in England and Wales or Scotland.

: Deaths in the UK are usually registered by someone related to the person who died. But if there are no relatives available, the death can also be registered by:
Someone who witnessed the death
An administrator from the hospital where they died
The person in charge of arranging the funeral
: There is no cost for registering a death, but you do need to pay £11 for the death certificate. You can buy multiple death certificates if you wish, which may be useful if you need to provide copies to solicitors, banks, pension companies and more.
: The number of death certificates you need will depend entirely on your situation. If the estate is fairly complex and contains assets with multiple financial organisations, you could speed up the probate process by getting several death certificates.
Please note that most financial companies only accept official copies of the death certificate – or certified copies made by a professional. This means that you won’t be able to buy one certificate and photocopy it at home.

Step 3

Arrange the funeral

If your loved one made a will, they may have included funeral wishes to help you plan a meaningful farewell. If you want to speak to a specialist about your options or need to use money from the estate to pay for the funeral, please give our cremation team a call.

0203 318 3029

: If you choose to arrange a cremation with Farewill, you won't need to hire a funeral director. Instead, we'll bring your loved one into our care, carry out a private cremation and return their ashes to you.
You can then arrange a personal memorial service with their ashes present, whenever and wherever it suits you. From fireworks by the beach to a picnic in the park, you'll have total freedom to say farewell your way.
: The average funeral in the UK costs around £4,800, but this varies wildly depending on where you are in the UK. In the South West of England, you can expect to pay around £4,500, while in London, you’ll be paying closer to £6,000.
In comparison, our direct cremation service costs £895, plus £82 for doctor's fees and £250 if we need to bring someone into our care urgently. This covers everything from collecting your loved one, to carrying out a private cremation, to returning their ashes back to you. You then have the freedom to arrange a personal memorial service with their ashes present, whenever and wherever it suits you.
: If you don’t have enough money to pay for the funeral and receive benefits such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support or House Benefit, you can seek help from the government’s Funeral Payment Scheme. Typically, this completely covers the cost of our cremation service, and we’re always happy to work with them to provide the right service for you. You can find out more about the Funeral Payment Scheme here.
Read our free guide for more information about what happens if you can't afford a funeral.

Step 4

Notify people and organisations

By using the government’s Tell Us Once service, you can notify multiple government departments of your loved one’s death, including the Passport Office, HMRC and the DVLA. You can also use Settld’s free death notification service to inform all companies in one go.

We’ve also created a downloadable checklist highlighting other people and organisations you may need to speak to.

Use Tell Us Once service Use Settld notification

Step 5

Apply for probate

Before you can deal with the person’s estate and distribute assets to beneficiaries, you may need to apply for probate. If you think you might need probate, need help applying or want to speak to a specialist about your situation, please give our probate team a call.

0203 318 3029

: Probate is the legal process you need to go through to deal with someone’s estate when they die. This is often called ‘applying for probate’. After submitting your application to the government, you’ll receive a document that you can take to banks, the Land Registry and other organisations. This gives you the authority to collect assets and distribute funds to beneficiaries.
You can find out more about the meaning of probate here.
: Probate is required after around 50% of deaths in the UK. If the property and accounts that make up the estate were jointly owned, or the total value of the estate is less than £10,000, you may not need to apply. In most other cases, you’ll either need to apply for a grant of probate (if there is a will) or grant of letters of administration (if there isn't a will). For simplicity, these are usually just referred to as 'probate'.
: The amount you’ll pay for probate depends on the type of services you need.
If the estate is simple to sort out, or you have the time and confidence to handle the whole process, then Farewill’s Grant Only probate service starts at £595. Once you have the grant of probate, you’ll take responsibility for the estate administration, pay any debts and settle taxes, prepare the final estate accounts and distribute the estate to beneficiaries.
If the estate is more complex, or just just don’t have the time and confidence to handle the process yourself, then our Complete Probate service starts at £1,500. We’ll give you a fixed-price quote before any work begins, and you’ll get a dedicated probate specialist to support you every step of the way. They will handle the legal, financial and tax affairs, prepare detailed accounts and pay beneficiaries for you. There are no upfront payments, and the cost of probate can be paid from the estate.

Free bereavement checklist

Our legal and funeral specialists have put together a simple checklist to help you keep track of everything you need to do after someone dies.

Download checklist

Bereavement support with Cruse

We understand that losing a loved one is never easy, but we hope this checklist helps to take some of the weight off your shoulders. If you’re finding this time particularly difficult, you can get support from Cruse Bereavement Care by calling their free helpline on 0808 808 1677.

I entrusted Farewill with my mother’s cremation and could not be happier with my choice. They were efficiency itself right from the initial phone call and took care of absolutely everything. It was a massive weight off my shoulders.

J. McGowan, Farewill customer