What to do when someone dies.

Get the medical certificate of the cause of death

Before a death can be registered, a doctor confirms the cause of death. In England and Wales every death is now reviewed by a medical examiner — an independent senior doctor — and the certificate is usually sent electronically straight to the register office. The medical examiner's office will call you to explain the cause of death and tell you when the certificate has gone across.

If the death was unexpected, or the cause isn't clear, it may be referred to a coroner (procurator fiscal in Scotland). That can add days or weeks, and it pauses the registration deadline — you haven't missed anything and you don't need to chase.

Decide who's collecting them, and where they'll rest

If the death was at home, a funeral director collects the person who has died — most operate 24 hours a day. If it was in hospital, there's no hurry: the hospital keeps them safely until you've chosen a funeral director.

You don't have to use the first funeral director someone suggests, and prices for the same service vary a lot between firms in the same town. Look for NAFD or SAIF membership, and ask for their standardised price list — they're required to publish one.

Register the death

Once the medical certificate is with the register office, book an appointment to register the death — within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or 8 days in Scotland (longer is fine if a coroner is involved). Registration is usually done by a relative, in the district where the person died.

Bring what you can find — their birth certificate, NHS number, marriage certificate — but don't panic if you can't find everything. You'll be asked for their full name, date and place of birth, occupation, and address.

• Buy several copies of the death certificate (around £12.50 each in England and Wales). Banks, insurers and probate all want originals — most families need 4–8 copies, and it's cheaper to buy them now than to order later.
• You'll also get the certificate for burial or cremation (the "green form"), which the funeral director needs before the funeral can happen.

Use Tell Us Once

When you register the death, the registrar gives you a reference number for Tell Us Once — a free government service that notifies HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA, the local council and the electoral register in one go. Use it; it saves a dozen separate painful phone calls. (It's available in England, Scotland and Wales — Northern Ireland has a similar service.)

Check for a will, funeral wishes and a pre-paid plan

Before committing to funeral arrangements, check whether they left a will (it may name an executor and contain funeral wishes), a pre-paid funeral plan, or life insurance that pays out quickly. Look through their papers, ask their solicitor or bank, and check with the National Will Register.

Whoever pays for the funeral can usually recover the cost from the estate — and banks will often release money from the person's account specifically to pay a funeral invoice, even before probate.

Arrange the funeral

There is no legal deadline for a funeral in England and Wales, so take the time you need. Costs vary more than most people expect: a direct cremation (no service) averages around £1,600, a simple attended funeral around £3,800, and a traditional funeral around £4,500 — with London well above those figures.

If money is tight, you may qualify for the government's Funeral Expenses Payment, or a Funeral Support Payment in Scotland. Ask before you commit to costs, not after.

Tell the organisations Tell Us Once doesn't cover

Banks and building societies, pension providers, insurers, utilities, landlord or mortgage lender, phone and broadband, subscriptions, and social media accounts all need telling separately. Most families end up making 30–60 calls, repeating the same information each time.

• Register with the Bereavement Register to stop direct mail addressed to the person who died.
• The Death Notification Service lets you tell many major banks in one submission.
• Keep a simple list of who you've told and any reference numbers — future-you will be glad of it.

Deal with the estate — and check if you need probate

Whether you need probate (confirmation in Scotland) depends on what the person owned. If everything was jointly owned with a spouse, or the accounts are small, you may not need it at all — each bank sets its own threshold. If there's property in their sole name, you almost certainly do.

Check the inheritance tax position early, because some tax is due before probate is granted. For anything beyond a simple estate, an SRA-regulated probate solicitor earns their fee many times over.

Look after the living

If you were married, in a civil partnership, or have dependent children, check whether you're entitled to Bereavement Support Payment — it's claimed from the DWP and time-limited, so don't leave it. And grief has no deadline: organisations like Cruse Bereavement Support, Marie Curie and local hospices offer free support, months or years later.