Step 1 - Immediate steps to take
Registering the death
The process of registering the death is quite informal and involves a face-to-face interview with the Registrar. To locate your nearest Registrar click hereThe Registrar will be on hand to guide you throughout, however, you may feel more comfortable taking somebody along with you.
Tell Us Once
Tell Us Once is a service offered online here. Once you have filled in the details it will notify Government organisations that someone has passed away. It is a great help and reduces some of the notifications that an Executor would need to complete.
Who does Tell Us Once notify?
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- You will need to contact HMRC separately for business taxes, like VAT.
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- Passport Office
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
- The local council
- Public sector or armed forces pension schemes
You will be required to notify other organisations such as Banks and Building societies separately.
The Death Notification Service
Settld, found here , and The Death Notification Service, found here , makes the job of reporting a death to financial institutions much easier. Like the Tell Us Once service run by the Government, when you inform Settld or The Death Notification Service of all participating bank and building society accounts held by the deceased, they will notify each institution for you, including their various brands, all at the same time.If you are an Executor or Administrator you will receive information about what to do next once you have completed the notification. Alternatively, if you are not dealing with the affairs of the deceased, and you simply want to help inform institutions, all correspondence will be sent to the Executors or Administrators.
It is recommended that you use both the Tell Us Once and one of the Death Notification Services above as they are separate and independently run services.
Funeral Wishes Register
Your loved one may have left a funeral wishes document (sometimes called a Memorandum of Wishes) which outlines their funeral preferences.You can search www.funeralwishesregister.com to start this process. The National Funeral Wishes Register may also hold information about whether an account holder had a Funeral Plan or recent Will in place.
Funeral wishes are not legally binding, but they can help you to proceed in confidence with the knowledge that you are organising a funeral in the way your loved one intended.
Arranging and organising the funeral
Once the death has been registered, you can start to make the arrangements for the funeral. You may have a local Funeral Director in mind; you will need to check if there is a funeral plan in place as a Funeral Director may already be specified. Contact us if you would like help finding a Funeral Director.
If you think there might be an existing Funeral Plan in place, but you can't find any of the information you can trace a funeral plan here.
The funeral director will guide you through the whole process and can make all of the practical arrangements on your behalf. You may choose to hand everything over to them or to retain some involvement.The main duties the funeral director will carry out are:
- Take care of the body
- Ensure that all the necessary documentation is completed to legally allow the burial or cremation
- Make it all happen, at the right time, in the right place and with the right people present
Things you may want to think about are:
- Burial or cremation?
- What type of coffin?
- Religious or non religious ceremony?
- Flowers or donation?
- Should there be a wake?
Securing the property
If the deceased’s property is now vacant it is important to ensure the property is secured. Make sure all of the windows are closed, the boiler is drained down, electricals are unplugged and all taps are turned off tightly. It is also important to ensure that the property is adequately insured and secured.
If you need to find out who the current energy supplier to the property is, the National Energy Association (NEA) have some helpful advice which can be found here.
Looking after any children, elderly relatives or pets
Vulnerable persons (including children, elderly relatives or disabled dependents):
If the deceased had been caring for a vulnerable person you may need to contact your local Social Services.
Looking after Pets:
If the deceased has any Pets that cannot be looked after by family or friends, it is the Executors responsibility to ensure these animals are cared for. People often leave instruction within their Will for their animals. If this is not the case, then you may need to contact a shelter:
Helping you deal with your grief
You may be struggling with many overwhelming thoughts and feelings at the moment. Allow yourself a period of adjustment, give yourself time and be patient. You may find it helpful to follow some of the things below to get you through:
Talking – Can help the healing process and soothe painful emotions. Many people find comfort in sharing their story with others.
Sadness – You’re allowed to feel sad and crying helps your body to release tension.
Sleep – Dealing with such intense emotions can make you very tired, be sure to rest whenever you need to.
Eat – A healthy, well-balanced diet can help you cope with your emotions. Try to avoid things that “numb” the pain, such as alcohol. You may be left feeling worse once the affects wear off.
GriefChat is a completely free service and is available Monday-Friday, 9am-9pm or by email out of these hours.
Cruse is the largest national organisation supporting bereaved people in the UK providing one to one support by trained volunteer support workers, you can find more information here.
Step 2 - Is there a Will?
Finding the Will
If you are aware that the deceased has left a Will, it is important to locate the most recently dated, valid document. For a Will to be valid, it needs to have been signed and witnessed in a particular way, in order to comply with the law. The Will should be in writing, signed and dated by the person who has died and witnessed by two independent witnesses, who must not be benefiting from the Will.If you are unsure of where the Will is held, we strongly recommend that you carry out a search with Will Registration companies to see if they have any details of a later Will. We recommend using Certainty – The National Will Register. They will search their own database as well as make local and national searches with Solicitors and Will Writers.
No Will: rules of intestacy
If someone dies without leaving a Will at all, or where the Will is invalid / cancelled, they are said to have died “intestate”. The rules of intestacy are followed to establish who can inherit from the estate, click here.Who is entitled to act
If a valid Will has been found it will usually state who the deceased wanted to act as Executors. An administrator is appointed to carry out the wishes of someone who has died, where that person did not have a Will or the Executor(s) cannot or do not want to act.Please note, Executors and Administrator cannot act if they are under 18 years old, if they have been declared bankrupt or are going though the process of bankruptcy (undischarged bankrupt).
Placing the executor statutory notices
As an Executor or Administrator, although legally you do not have to, it is strongly recommended that you advertise for any unknown creditors and / or beneficiaries to come forward. This will offer you protection; you can escape liability in the event an unknown creditor comes forward at a later date after you have paid out all of the money. If you do not place the advertisement and you have paid out the estate, then you may be expected to settle with the creditor from your own funds.You can place this advert straight away. It is very straightforward and involves advertising in the London Gazette. Also, where the person who has died owned their own home, it is a good idea to advertise in their local paper.
The advertisement expires after 2 months and 1 day, after which time you are safe to distribute the estate, although it is advisable to wait 6 months from the date of death in the event of any claims being brought against the estate.
Opening an executor account
When dealing with the estate it is your responsibility to collect in all of the Assets and keep an accurate record of ALL monies paid in and out. It is advisable to open an Executor Account and, although it is unlikely you will receive any monies straight away, it is a good idea to open up the bank account as soon as possible so that you can pay in any monies you do receive. It is good practice to open an Executor Account regardless of the size of the estate and to arrange it with either your bank or the bank of the deceased’s.Estate accounts
It is important to keep accurate accounts of all monies coming in and leaving the estate at this stage and going forward. This information will be needed to produce the Estate Accounts, a copy of which will need to be sent to all beneficiaries for them to agree, before the estate can be distributed. Opening an Executor Account will help with this, as an electronic record will be kept of the income and outgoings, and enables you to evidence all of the activity correctly if required. For more information see Step 9.Step 3 - Valuing the estate
The Assets
To value the estate correctly and establish whether a Grant of Probate is needed, you are required to ascertain what Assets the deceased owned. You will need to make contact with each company, bank, building society and financial institution to gain date of death balances.The Debts
As with the Assets, any Debts the deceased had, need to be identified. Debts include credit cards, loans, Mortgages etc. All creditors will need to be informed and accurate date of death balances obtained.Using our online Toolkit will help you to keep track of the Assets and Debts, and with over 50 letter templates, it will also help you contact each institution.
Tracing Assets
An Asset can be separated by its owner for a number of reasons, for example a change of an address. It is your responsibility to search for any dormant accounts to ensure they are settled. For more information, click here.Gifts made by the person who died
Gifts include;
- Any gift made within the 7 years prior to the date of death
- Any gift made where the person who died retained a benefit, for example a gift of their home and then continued to live there.
It is important that an accurate record is kept relating to these gifts since they will need to be disclosed to the HMRC, and depending on the value and types of gifts, may affect the Inheritance Tax position of the estate.
Is the estate taxable?
Do the assets of the deceased including property and cash assets total more than £325,000? If yes, was the deceased widowed? Has the deceased recently given any taxable gifts? These are some of the questions which affect if Nil Rate Band applies and how much Inheritance Tax (IHT) is payable.Other taxes will need to be considered as well, such as Capital Gains and Income Tax, all of which are the responsibility of the Executors / Administrators. You will need to complete IHT forms and pay any IHT due.
Administrative Tasks
- Return the Driving Licence (both the photo card and paper, where applicable) to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AB
- Return the Passport to the Passport Office enclosing this form to Customer Contact Centre, Her Majesty’s Passport Office,
- PO Box 767, Southport, PR8 9PW.
- Return any library membership cards to the local library
- Return any bus passes, disabled badges or parking permits
- Cancel any club memberships
Step 4 - Identifying the beneficiaries
Finding the beneficiaries
Part of your role as an Executor / Administrator is to ensure that all of the beneficiaries named in the Will are located. As previously mentioned, if there is not a current, valid Will then the Rules of Intestacy will apply.It is usual to send a letter and a copy of the Will to all of the beneficiaries to let them know what their entitlement is. It is also advisable to ask for identification, such as photo ID and a copy of a recent utility bill.
Using our online Toolkit allows you to keep track of all beneficiaries by creating a beneficiary worksheet. This will enable you to keep all of their details together for when you distribute the estate. There is also more information on how to locate missing beneficiaries, beneficiaries under 18 years old, Bankrupt beneficiaries and vulnerable beneficiaries.
Deceased beneficiary
If a beneficiary has died, then you need to look to the Will for any provision. If the beneficiary was a child, grandchild or remoter descendant of the deceased then the law states that their share automatically passes to their children, this is unless there is any wording within a Will to stop this from happening, for example “but if he dies before me then his share will pass to his own children”.If the beneficiary died within 28 days (or a different period if specified in the Will) of the deceased, then it could well be considered that they died first for distribution purposes. If they died after the 28 days, then the beneficiary would still be entitled to their share or gift and it will now form part of their own estate.
Missing beneficiaries
Evidence is required to prove that every attempt has been made to locate any missing beneficiaries; which could mean employing the services of a professional. However, this can become expensive and it is worth you conducting thorough searches first.Beneficiary under 18 years old
If there are beneficiaries who are under the age of 18 years old, or under the vesting age stated in the Will, then their share of the inheritance will need to be held in trust for them until they reach a specific age; usually 18, 21 or 25 years old. You will need to ensure suitable Trustees (this could be yourself) are instructed to look after the inheritance until that time.Bankrupt beneficiary
If a beneficiary is bankrupt, then their share will need to be dealt with in a different way and would be due to be paid towards the debt. It is advisable to get professional advice regarding this.Vulnerable beneficiary
In some cases, there may be vulnerable beneficiaries who are unable to deal with substantial amounts of money they are due to inherit. It is your responsibility to ensure that the inheritance is managed and looked after correctly for the beneficiary.Step 5 - Applying for the Grant of Probate
What is the Grant of Probate/ Representation?
The Grant of Representation, is a court order and the official authority to deal with the estate of the person who has died. The grant is issued by the Probate Registry which is part of the High Court. There are different types of grants, the most common are:
- Grant of Probate – This is the court order issued to the Executor(s) under a Will.
- Grant of Letters of Administration – This is the court order issued to the administrators where the person died without a valid Will.
- Grant of Letters of Administration with Will annexed – This is the court order issued to the Administrator(s) where there is a valid Will, however, there are no Executors appointed or they are unable or unwilling to act.
You may hear this being referred to as “Probate”. Following the death, many of the Assets will be frozen and the asset holders will only release the Assets to you once they are happy you have the authority to act. The Grant of Representation evidences this authority.
Do I need a Grant of Representation?
Not sure whether you need a Grant of Probate? To find out yourself, please contact usStep 6 - Collecting Assets and paying Debts
Statutory notices
It is strongly advised you advertise for any unknown creditors and / or beneficiaries to come forward. This offers protection and reduces your liability in the event of an unknown creditor comes forward at a later date; after all of money has been paid out. If you do not place the advertisement and money has been paid out the estate, then you may be expected to settle with the creditor from your own funds. Place a notice here if you haven't already.The advertisement expires after 2 months and 1 day, after which time it is safe to distribute the estate, although it is advisable to wait 6 months from the date of death in the event of any claims being brought against the estate.
Register the Grant or Statutory Declarations with the Asset Holders
Once you have obtained the Grant of Representation it needs to be sent to all of the required companies to enable them to release the monies. This can either be the original or one of the sealed office copies.Selling Assets
Once the Grant of Representation has been received, you will be able to legally complete the sale of Assets, such as property or investments.Collecting money
As you start to receive monies from the asset holders, you will need to ensure that the money is paid into the Executor account, keeping a separate note of the income and capital. Setting up a Cash account will help you with this.Paying the Debts
Although there is no legal time limit for the payments to be made, it is advisable to wait until the expiry date of the statutory notices (which is 2 months and 1 day from the date of the notice, this is the time given for any unknown creditors or beneficiaries to come forward) before settling the Debts.
Debts are a priority and should be paid before any of the beneficiaries receive their entitlement.
Paying the Expenses
As well as existing Debts, there will also be certain Expenses that need to be paid, this will include any that have paid on behalf of the estate.Step 7 - Paying the beneficiaries
Checks before paying the beneficiaries
Before the beneficiaries can be paid, you need to confirm the following:
- You have identified all of the beneficiaries
- You have checked to see if the Will/Intestacy needs to be varied
- You have paid all of the creditors and Expenses
- You have identified and understand the gifts described
- There is enough money to pay all of the beneficiaries their full share
- You have waited 6 months from the date of death before distributing the Assets
If there is not enough money in the estate to pay all of the beneficiaries then they will need to be paid in a specific order. If you find yourself in this position, you may prefer professional help to ensure that the Assets are distributed correctly, in the correct proportions.
Varying the terms of the Will
Deed of Variation or Deed of Family Arrangement, do you need to know more? If so, please contact us.Giving out the specific bequests
For more information please contact us.Paying the pecuniary legacies
For more information please contact us.Making an interim distribution to the residuary beneficiaries
Executors must be satisfied that all debts, taxes and liabilities have been, or can be, settled before making any distributions. They can consider making small interim payments to the beneficiaries if they are confident there is enough funds to settle all debts due when trying up the Estate.Paying the beneficiaries
Once the bequests have been given and any cash legacies paid, the remaining Assets can be distributed. This is the residue. You may prefer to talk to us directly and obtain more information about the correct practice for dealing with the residue.Step 8 - Finalising the Tax
Income Tax
It is important to note, that you are responsible for ensuring the tax position of the person who has died is finalised. You will need to cover the tax position up until the date of death as well as the administration period.Capital Gains Tax
As is the case with Income Tax, when dealing with an estate, Capital Gains Tax is broken down into two parts. The first part will cover capital gains and losses up until the date of death and the second part will cover the administration period.Step 9 - The Estate Accounts
What are Estate Accounts?
Estate accounts is a detailed report of the financial information about the estate that you have collected throughout the administration.You will need to account for every penny and so it is important that the information is correct. Estate accounts give a complete picture of how an estate is made up and how it has been dealt with. As such it provides an invaluable source of reference and will help deal with any queries that can arise after the administration has been completed.
Summary of the estate
For more information please contact us.Detailing of the Assets and Debts
For more information please contact us.Listing the Administration Expenses and specific gifts
For more information please contact us.Identifying income and capital payments
For more information please contact us.Calculating the final distribution
For more information please contact us.Do I really need Estate Accounts?
In short, yes…
Personal representatives have statutory duties set out in section 25 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925 to:
- collect and get in the real and personal estate of the deceased and administer it according to law;
- when required to do so by the court exhibit on oath in the Court a full inventory of the estate and when so required render an account of the administration of the estate to the Court; …’
You have sworn to deliver accounts to the Court, if and when these may be required.
Step 10 - Distributing the Estate
Distributing the Estate
As the administration comes to an end, it is worth running through the list below to check that everything has been completed:
- Did you notify all of the utilities when the house was sold / transferred and all the balances paid or refunded?
- Have you paid all of the Debts and Expenses?
- Have you recognised and collected in all of the Assets?
- Are all of the Assets now sold or transferred to the beneficiaries?
- Have you got clearance from HMRC for Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax (where applicable and Inheritance Tax?
- Are you happy you have identified all of the beneficiaries, you have their ID and you have carried out Bankruptcy searches?
- Have all of the beneficiaries and personal representatives approved the accounts?
- Have you waited 6 months from the date of death before distributing the estate?
Income Tax Certificates
You will have realised that the money the beneficiaries have received will be made up of capital, cash, actual assets etc. and some of it will be income, bank account interest, share dividends etc. It is important to let the beneficiaries know the details of the income so that they can disclose this in their own Tax Return. You do this by issuing a R185, Certificate of deduction of income tax form, to each of the residuary beneficiaries.Helping the beneficiaries
The beneficiaries will have inherited, what might be a life changing amount of money, and as such they may require advice on how to invest their Inheritance. Many asset management companies or Independent Financial Advisers can help with this and you may find that the beneficiary already has someone in mind. If they do not we can point them in the right direction and refer them to one of our carefully selected partners. Contact us for more information.Final Administration Tasks
To finish the administration there are a couple of small tasks that need to be completed, detailed below:
- Make sure you have all of the receipts from the beneficiaries.
- Close the Executor bank account – make sure there are no funds remaining before closing this.
- Tidy up your files and make sure all of your worksheets are complete and up-to-date. You need to keep all of the information for 12 years and you may find that you need to refer back to this from time to time.