By day 5 or 8

3. Register the death

In England and Wales, you need to register the death within 5 days. In Scotland, register within 8 days. Find the nearest Registrars office local to the person who’s died.

When you register the death, you can buy a death certificate for £12.50. This is a different document from the medical certificate above. It’s a good idea to order a few extra copies, as companies ask for this when transferring or closing accounts.

4. Find out if there’s a Will and/or Letter of Wishes

These might be online, with their solicitor, or printed and stored with other important documents. They should name an executor, who’s responsible for sorting the estate and carrying out the person’s wishes.

If there’s no executor, or the named executor cannot or doesn’t want to act, the next of kin or beneficiaries can apply to be the administrator of the estate instead.

It’s also worth checking if the person who’s died had any pre-paid funeral plan arrangements or life insurance.

If you can’t find a Will or letter of wishes, that’s okay. Their estate will need to be shared out according to the rules of intestacy instead.

6. Secure any unoccupied assets and property

These are likely to be the most valuable part of their estate. If the property is empty, make sure you secure it:

In the first few weeks

7. Let people and organisations know who’s died

Use the government’s Tell Us Once service to notify multiple departments, like HMRC, DWP, DVLA and the local council. Use the unique code the registrar gave you when registering the death.

Some other places to notify include:

8. Make a list of all assets and liabilities in the estate

Once you’ve let organisations know about the person who’s died, you can start to build a more detailed picture of their finances and belongings.

This includes finding any documents on:

Be sure to get balances or valuations as of the date of death.

9. Check if you need probate

Whether you need probate depends on the threshold set by the bank or financial organisation – this can be anywhere between £5,000 and £50,000.

Check if you need probate and if you can apply. Then contact any beneficiaries to let them know.

A beneficiary is a person (or entity) who’s legally entitled to get the value from any financial products of the person who’s died. For example, a payout from a life insurance policy or money from savings.

In the first few months

11. If needed, apply for probate and get the grant of probate

For estates over £5,000, the probate registry charges a £300 application fee. Extra copies of the probate document are £16 each.

You can apply yourself online or by post.

Once you apply, you’ll usually get probate within 16 weeks Sometimes it takes longer if you need to give more information

Once you get probate, the Trustee Act recommends you place a ‘deceased estates notice’ in The Gazette and a local newspaper, to find creditors who might be owed money by the estate.

In England and Wales, creditors have 2 months and 1 day to make a claim against the estate. In Scotland it’s advised to wait 6 months before sorting the estate, for any creditor claims to come through.

12. Sort out the estate

This is often called estate administration or administering the estate. You’ll need to:

Send a copy of the grant of probate to all the providers you notified before

Open an executor account with your chosen bank (this lets you gather all the money in one place)

Close all accounts of the person who’s died and ask the providers to transfer any money or assets

List any properties for sale, if needed

Prepare the final estate accounts and keep a record for yourself

Using your executor account, pay off debts and pay the inheritance to beneficiaries according to wishes in the will

If there’s no will, share assets according to the rules of intestacy

Close down the executor’s bank account

How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax and report its value

Intestacy - who inherits if someone dies without a will?