What to Do When
Someone Dies
A practical, step-by-step guide through every stage, from the first hours through to settling the estate.
Written by Steve Scott, founder of AfterLoss. Last reviewed: 2 September 2026
A two-minute overview
No one hands you a manual. When my dad died, I remember sitting at his kitchen table thinking there must be a list somewhere - some clear, ordered set of instructions that tells you what to do first, what can wait, and what you absolutely cannot forget. There wasn't one.
This guide is that list.
If you can only do one thing today:
Make sure the hospital, GP surgery, or care home has the right phone number for you. In England and Wales the cause of death is now reviewed by a Medical Examiner before a death can be registered. Their office rings the next of kin to explain it and to say when you can register. Everything else waits on that call - and there is no paperwork for you to collect.
Quick overview
You don't have to track all of this yourself
AfterLoss creates a personalised checklist based on your relationship to the person who died, their assets, and where they lived. Only see what's relevant to you.
Or see how it works before signing up.
The First 48 Hours
These are the things that genuinely need to happen quickly. Everything else can wait a few days.
Before the steps: who to call in the first hour
Nothing on the list below needs to happen in the first hour. What happens right away depends on where the person died.
- At home, and the death was expected: call the GP surgery, or the out-of-hours GP service at night or at weekends. A doctor or nurse will come to confirm the death. If a hospice or district nurse was already involved, call them first; they will often do this for you.
- At home, and the death was unexpected: call 999. The police and ambulance service attend as a matter of routine, and the death is usually referred to the coroner (in Scotland, the Procurator Fiscal). That does not mean anything was wrong; it is the normal process when a doctor cannot confirm the cause straight away.
- In hospital, a hospice, or a care home: the staff will arrange for the death to be confirmed and tell you what happens next. You can take your time before leaving.
Once the death has been confirmed, you can stay with the person for as long as you need. The funeral director can be called at any point after that, whether tonight or tomorrow.
Wait for the cause of death to be confirmed
In England and Wales this happens without you. Someone will phone you.
A doctor who treated the person fills in the medical certificate of cause of death. Since September 2024 they cannot hand it to you. It goes to a medical examiner instead - a senior doctor who had no part in the person's care, and who checks the stated cause of death independently.
The medical examiner's office then rings the next of kin. They explain the cause of death in plain words, answer questions, and give you the chance to raise anything that troubled you about the care the person received. Once they are satisfied, the certificate goes straight to the register office and you are told you can book your appointment. This usually takes a few days.
If the death was sudden, unexplained, or happened during surgery, the Coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) takes over instead. That can add days or weeks - and that's normal, even if it feels agonising.
Worth knowing: The medical certificate is not the same as a death certificate, and in England and Wales you will never handle the medical certificate at all - it goes doctor to medical examiner to registrar. The death certificate is the one you receive, from the registrar, after you register the death. You'll need multiple copies (order at least 5-10; they cost £12.50 each in England and Wales). Many organisations won't accept photocopies.
In Scotland: There is no medical examiner. The doctor completes the medical certificate (Form 11) and sends it to the register office directly, so you don't collect or carry it here either. A sample of certificates is reviewed by the Death Certification Review Service, which can add a few days.
In Northern Ireland: There is no medical examiner system. The doctor or hospital either forwards the medical certificate electronically to the General Register Office, or hands it to you to pass on. Ask which they are doing, so you know whether anything is waiting on you.
Register the death
Within 5 days of being told you can register, or 8 days in Scotland.
Once the medical examiner's office (or the coroner) has told you to go ahead, book an appointment at the local register office - usually the one for the area where the person died, not where they lived. In some areas the register office rings you to arrange it.
You do not need to bring the medical certificate. The register office already has it. Take whatever else you can find - their birth certificate, NHS number, marriage or civil partnership certificate, any benefits paperwork - but none of it is essential, and the registrar can work with what you have.
The registrar will give you:
- A certified copy of the entry in the death register (the "death certificate") - order at least 5 copies. Banks, insurers, pension providers, and HMRC will all want one.
- A Certificate for Burial or Cremation (the "green form") - the funeral director needs this before the funeral can happen.
- A form for the DWP to claim any benefits owed.
Full guide: How to Register a Death in England and Wales
In Scotland: Registration works differently. You register at the local registrar for the area where the death occurred. You'll receive a Certificate of Registration of Death (Form 14) and an abbreviated death certificate. The registrar also issues an Authority to Cremate if needed. There's no separate "green form" - burial or cremation authority is handled through the death registration process.
In Northern Ireland: Registration happens at the district registrar's office, and in many areas it can be done over the phone. Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland; you'll need to notify government departments individually through the NI Bereavement Service.
Call the funeral director
You don't need to have all the answers yet - a good funeral director will guide you.
You don't have to do this on day one, but most people find it helps to make this call early - funeral directors handle a lot of the practical logistics and can guide you through the next few days.
You don't need to have decided between burial and cremation yet. You don't need to know what kind of service you want. A good funeral director will walk you through the options at your pace.
Worth knowing: You can use any funeral director; you're not obliged to use the one suggested by the hospital or care home. Get at least two quotes. Prices vary enormously (a simple funeral can range from £1,500 for direct cremation to £5,000+ for a traditional service). Ask for a written itemised estimate before agreeing to anything.
Full guide: Arranging a Funeral: A Complete Guide
Secure the home
If the person lived alone, their property needs attention.
If the person lived alone, you'll need to:
- Lock up the property and make it secure.
- Let the home insurer know the property is unoccupied (most policies have a clause about unoccupied homes: usually 30-60 days before cover changes).
- Consider redirecting their post via Royal Mail. Royal Mail updates its prices from time to time, so check the current cost on its site.
- Don't cancel utilities yet - you may need heating on to prevent pipe damage, and you'll need to take final meter readings.
- If there are pets, arrange care for them straight away. Our guide on what happens to pets when their owner dies covers emergency care and rehoming.
The First Week
Once you've registered the death and spoken to a funeral director, the immediate crisis is over. These are the next priorities.
Use Tell Us Once
One of the most useful government services, and not enough people know about it.
Tell Us Once lets you report the death to most government departments in a single phone call or online session. The registrar will give you a Tell Us Once reference number when you register the death. The number is valid for 28 days, so it helps to do this within the first week or two. Use it to notify:
- DWP (to stop benefits and pensions)
- HMRC
- The Passport Office
- DVLA
- The local council (council tax, electoral register, Blue Badge, Housing Benefit)
What to expect: Tell Us Once does not notify banks, insurers, utility companies, or the NHS. It doesn't handle anything to do with the estate. After using Tell Us Once, you'll still need to contact 20-30 organisations individually. That's the part people aren't prepared for.
Full guide: Tell Us Once: Complete Guide
In Northern Ireland: Tell Us Once is not available. Use the NI Bereavement Service instead; it covers some of the same departments but the process is different.
Find the will
The will names the executors who are legally responsible for dealing with the estate.
If there is a will, it will name one or more executors - the people legally responsible for dealing with the Estate. If there's no will, the next of kin becomes the "Administrator" under Intestacy rules.
Check: the deceased's home (filing cabinet, desk, safe), their solicitor, their bank (some banks offer will-storage services), the National Will Register (nationalwillregister.co.uk; £30 search fee).
One thing to expect: Even if you're named as Executor, you don't have legal authority to deal with the estate until you receive a Grant of Probate (or Confirmation in Scotland). Banks may release small amounts for funeral costs before Probate is granted; for everything else, you'll need to apply.
Full guide: How to Apply for Probate
Notify the bank
Call the deceased's bank(s) as soon as you can to freeze the account and understand your options.
The account will be frozen, but the bank should:
- Release funds for funeral costs (most banks will do this against sight of the funeral director's invoice, even before probate).
- Tell you the balance on the date of death (you'll need this for the probate application).
- Explain their probate threshold: the amount below which they'll release funds without a formal Grant of Probate.
Common probate thresholds (these change; always confirm):
| Bank | Probate threshold |
|---|---|
| £50,000 | |
| £50,000 | |
| Case-by-case | |
| £50,000 | |
| £50,000 | |
| £50,000 |
Check whether a specific bank will need probate with our Probate Checker (around 33 banks and building societies). Full guide: Notifying Banks After a Death.
There's a lot to manage
And we're only halfway through. AfterLoss helps you stay on top of every task without missing deadlines or important steps.
Or see how it works.
The First Month
The funeral has likely happened by now. This is when longer-term administration begins - and it's often when people feel most overwhelmed.
Value the estate
Before you can apply for probate, you need to know what the estate is worth.
This means contacting every financial institution, insurer, and pension provider to get a date-of-death balance. You'll need to value:
- Bank and savings accounts: get date-of-death balances from every institution.
- Property: get an estate agent's valuation (you'll need this for HMRC even if you're not selling).
- Investments: shares, ISAs, premium bonds, crypto.
- Pensions: some have death benefits; others form part of the estate.
- Life insurance: check whether policies were written in trust (if so, they pay out directly and don't form part of the estate).
- Personal possessions: cars, jewellery, collections. HMRC expects reasonable valuations.
- Debts: mortgages, credit cards, loans, unpaid bills. These are deducted from the estate value.
What to expect: This is the most time-consuming part of the entire process. Each organisation has its own bereavement team, its own forms, its own timescale. Some will respond in days; others take weeks. Keep a log of every call - who you spoke to, when, what reference number they gave you. You'll need it.
Most of those calls repeat the same details. AfterLoss has pre-filled email and phone scripts for the banks, pension providers, insurers, and the rest, so you're working from a template instead of starting fresh on every line.
Apply for probate (if needed)
Required if the estate is above the probate threshold for any asset holder.
England & Wales: Apply online at gov.uk/applying-for-probate. You'll need to fill in the inheritance tax forms first (even if no tax is due). The current fee is £526 (or £0 if the estate is under £5,000). Most online applications are granted within 5 to 8 weeks. Paper applications take longer, often around 16 weeks.
Full guide: How to Apply for Probate
Full guide: Do I Need Probate?
In Scotland: Apply through the Sheriff Court using form C1. The process is called Confirmation rather than Probate, and the terminology is different throughout. You'll need an inventory of the estate.
Notify everyone else
Beyond Tell Us Once and banks, there's a long list of organisations to contact.
- Utility companies: gas, electric, water, broadband, phone. Take final meter readings and ask to transfer the account or close it.
- Council tax: you may be entitled to a Class F exemption (property left empty after death) or a single person's 25% discount.
- TV Licence: cancel or transfer.
- Insurance: home, car, life, travel. Cancel policies that are no longer needed and claim on those that are.
- Subscriptions: Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, gym memberships, magazines, apps. Check bank statements for recurring payments.
- DVLA: return the driving licence and update the V5C. See what happens to a car when someone dies.
- Royal Mail: set up a redirect to catch post you might miss.
- Pension providers: notify all workplace and private pension schemes. Some have death benefits that need claiming.
- Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn all have memorialisation or deletion processes.
Worth knowing: You will still be getting post addressed to the deceased months or even years later. It gets easier to deal with, but it never fully stops. Joining the Bereavement Register (free) and the Mailing Preference Service (free) helps reduce unsolicited mail.
The First Three Months
Property, debts, and distributing the estate.
Deal with property
How property is handled depends on how it was owned.
If the deceased owned property:
- Joint tenants: the property automatically passes to the surviving owner. You'll need to send a death certificate to the Land Registry (form DJP) to remove the deceased's name.
- Tenants in common: the deceased's share forms part of the estate and needs to go through probate.
- Rented property: check the tenancy agreement. Most tenancies can be ended with one month's notice, but some have specific clauses for bereavement.
Pay debts and distribute the estate
Once you have the Grant of Probate and have collected all the assets.
- Place a statutory notice in The Gazette and a local newspaper (this protects you from unknown creditors; you must wait at least 2 months after the notice before distributing).
- Pay any debts from the estate - in a specific legal order (funeral costs first, then secured debts, then unsecured).
- Pay any inheritance tax due - the deadline is 6 months after death, but you can set up a payment plan if the estate includes property that hasn't been sold yet.
- Distribute the estate according to the will (or intestacy rules if there's no will).
- Prepare estate accounts: a record of everything that came in and went out of the estate.
What Official Guidance Leaves Out
The bigger picture that official guidance quietly leaves out.
It takes longer than you think. The average estate takes 9-12 months to fully administer, even for simple cases. Complex estates (multiple properties, business interests, contested wills) can take 2-3 years.
Grief and admin don't mix well. You'll find yourself on hold with a bank, explaining for the fourth time that day that someone has died, and suddenly you can't speak. That's normal. It's okay to say "I need a moment" or to hang up and call back tomorrow.
You don't have to do it alone. You can ask family members to handle specific tasks. You can appoint a solicitor to manage the probate application. You can use AfterLoss to break the whole process into manageable steps, track your progress, store documents, and share the workload with family.
You're doing better than you think. If you've read this far, you're already more prepared than most people are. The fact that you're looking for guidance is a sign of care, not weakness.
Quick Reference Checklist
A summary of everything above in one place.
First 48 Hours
First Week
First Month
First Three Months
Key differences across the UK
While the broad steps are similar, there are important differences between jurisdictions that affect deadlines, terminology, and processes.
| Topic | EEngland and Wales | SScotland | NNorthern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
Registration deadline | 5 days | 8 days | 5 days |
Probate term | Probate | Confirmation | Probate |
Grant term | Grant of Probate | Confirmation | Grant of Probate |
Coroner equivalent | coroner | Procurator Fiscal | coroner |
Small estate threshold | £5,000 | £36,000 | £10,000 |
Tell Us Once | Available | Available | Not available |
No-will term | Letters of Administration | Confirmation (with executor dative) | Letters of Administration |
Frequently asked questions
Next steps
- Work through the steps in order with an AfterLoss case: every action and document for the family in one shared place.
- Share the case with whoever else is helping using Collaboration: nothing falls between executors when more than one person is involved.
- Make this easier for your own family later with Planning Mode: record what they will need now, while life is calm.
Related guides
How to Register a Death
What to bring, where to go, and the 5-day deadline (8 days in Scotland). Includes what happens at the registrar appointment.
Tell Us Once Service
What the Tell Us Once service is, who it tells after a death, what you need, the 28-day reference number, and the organisations you still have to contact yourself.
How Long Does Grief Last? What the Evidence Shows
What decades of bereavement research says about grief timelines, why the five stages model is misleading, and when grief may need extra support.
Wondering what the weeks and months ahead might feel like? Our evidence-based guides on how long grief lasts and whether grief counselling works walk through what the research shows.