Solicitors
You should ascertain if the deceased made a will and consult the solicitor
who holds it, to see what the deceased’s wishes were as to the
funeral. The Will will also disclose the names of the executors or the persons
legally entitled to deal with the deceased’s estate. Your solicitor
will assist you with the administration of the estate and any questions
relating to taxation that may arise.
People to Inform
There are various people, companies and other interested parties who need
to be informed of the death, and others who ought to be informed.
If the deceased lived alone then someone ought to be informed as soon as
possible.
- Local social services if meals on wheels, home help, day centre transport was used
- Any hospital the person was attending
- The family doctor
- The local Inland Revenue office
- The local Social Security office to cancel pensions, allowances, benefits etc.
- Any employer or trade union
- A child or young person’s teacher, employer or college, should be informed if a parent, brother, sister, grandparent or close friend has died
- Car insurance company - people driving a car insured by the deceased’s name are not legally insured
- Local offices of British Gas, electricity, British Telecom, Royal Mail deliveries and local newsagents
- If the deceased was receiving Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit, the local housing department; also if the deceased was living in property rented from the Council or any landlord if the deceased lived in rented accommodation.
Things may Need Returning
Items such as order books and Giro cheques will have to be returned to the
appropriate Social Security office. Make a note of any pension book or order
book numbers before you send them back.
The deceased’s passport, driving license, car registration documents,
membership cards and National Insurance papers must all be returned to the
relevant offices.
Check for any library books that might need returning, also if there was
any NHS equipment being used; it will need to be returned to either the
hospital or health centre from where it came.
It can be difficult enough dealing with bereavement without having to deal
with the deceased’s property, possessions and personal matters.
For this reason it is advisable to contact a solicitor to help with such
matters. The suggested solicitors contained within this publication are
there to help you overcome this difficult time.
Future financial help may be required, it is possible that you may qualify
for help from the state. There is a free telephone enquiry line for Social
Security - 0800 243 640.
They should be able to help with any general benefit enquiry and will give
you advice on how you go about claiming. Claim forms can be obtained from
both Benefit offices and the Post Office.
We hope this information proves helpful to you at this difficult time and we wish to stress that this publication is purely a guide. We will be pleased to help in person in any way we can.
