What to Do When Someone Dies

When someone close to you dies, it can be hard to know what to do and in what order. The days immediately after a bereavement can feel overwhelming: grief, shock and practical demands all arrive at once. This guide walks you through the key steps, in the right sequence, so that you can focus on what matters most. If you would like someone to talk it through with, call us on 01233 659 796; we are happy to help.

This guide covers the first days, up to and including the funeral. If you have been named as an executor and want to know what happens after that, read The Executor's First 30 Days.

The first steps at a glance

• A doctor certifies the cause of death and a medical examiner reviews it. Nothing else can happen until this is done.
• You register the death, within five days of being told you can.
• You order certified copies of the death certificate.
• You use Tell Us Once to notify government departments in one go.
• You find the Will and check it for funeral wishes before booking anything.
• You arrange the funeral.
• The executor takes over and the estate is administered.

The sections below explain each step. Take them one at a time.

Getting the medical certificate

Whether the death happened in hospital, at home or in a care home, a doctor records the cause of death and a medical examiner reviews it. The medical examiner's office then sends the certificate directly to the registrar and lets you know you can register. They will also offer to discuss the cause of death with you. Do ask questions if anything is unclear.

If the death was sudden, unexplained or unnatural, it is referred to the coroner (a judicial officer who investigates deaths that occur in certain circumstances). You cannot register the death until the coroner has finished. If an inquest (a formal court hearing to establish how a person died) is opened, ask the coroner's office for an interim death certificate: you can use this for probate and to notify organisations. Hold off booking a firm funeral date while a coroner's investigation is ongoing, though you can begin planning the ceremony.

It is worth knowing that the medical examiner process, introduced in September 2024, was designed to give families more transparency and to make the certification process more consistent across England and Wales. If you have questions about the cause of death recorded, the medical examiner's office is your first port of call.

Registering the death

You should register within 5 days of being told you can register. Book an appointment at a register office, ideally in the area where the person died. Take the person's details: full name (including previous names), date and place of birth, occupation, address, and details of their spouse or civil partner.

Who can register? Usually a relative, someone present at the death, someone living in the house where the death occurred, or the person arranging the funeral. The register office can advise if you are unsure.

The registrar will give you:

• A certificate for burial or cremation, still known to almost everyone as the "green form". Give this to the funeral director.
• A certificate of registration of death (form BD8), which is used for certain benefits.
• Any certified copies of the death certificate you order, at £12.50 each.
• The offer of the Tell Us Once service, with a reference number to use if you would rather do it online later.

How many death certificates should you order? Count the banks, building societies, insurers and pension providers you know of, and add two or three spares. Each copy costs £12.50, and that is the same price whether you order on the day or later. The reason to order enough at registration is time, not money: several institutions will want an original at the same moment, and waiting for more copies to arrive can hold up everything else.

You do not have to do all of this yourself

Squiggle can take on as much or as little of the estate administration as you wish, from arranging the Grant of Probate to handling everything end to end, while you focus on your family. Book a call with a consultant or call 01233 659 796.

Finding the Will and arranging the funeral

Find the original Will as soon as you can: it may name executors (the people legally responsible for carrying out the Will's instructions) and contain funeral wishes, and it determines who deals with the estate. If you cannot find one, check with local solicitors and Will writers and search the national Will register (Certainty). The person may also have had a pre-paid funeral plan.

If there is no Will at all, the estate will be dealt with under the intestacy rules (the legal rules that govern who inherits when someone dies without a Will). See our Intestacy: Who Inherits Without a Will factsheet for more on this.

Most families appoint a funeral director. Ask for a full breakdown of costs and check they belong to a trade body (NAFD or SAIF). We can recommend trusted local funeral directors if that would help.

Funeral costs are paid out of the estate, but the estate's money is usually frozen at this point, which catches families out. Many banks will pay a funeral bill directly to the funeral director from the deceased's account before probate. It is always worth asking, and we can help you ask. Keep every receipt: funeral costs are a proper expense of the estate.

A checklist for the first two weeks

Use this alongside the sections above. Tick things off as you go. Very little of it has to happen today.

The first two or three days

• Contact a funeral director to arrange collection of the person
• Let close family and friends know
• Secure the person's home: lock up, cancel deliveries, tell a neighbour
• Look for any pre-paid funeral plan documents

Before you can register

• Wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm you can register
• Book an appointment at the register office
• Find the original Will: at home, with a solicitor or Will writer, or on the Certainty register
• Tell the person's employer or pension provider

At and just after registration

• Register the death and order enough certified copies
• Give the green form to the funeral director
• Say yes to Tell Us Once
• Tell the banks. Sole accounts are usually frozen, but many banks will pay a funeral bill directly to the funeral director
• Tell the mortgage lender, landlord or housing association if there is one
• Tell the home, car and life insurers

Then hand over to the executor

Everything after this point belongs to whoever is named as executor in the Will. If that is you, our The Executor's First 30 Days factsheet takes it from here, week by week. If you would rather not do it alone, call us on 01233 659 796.

A worked example: what this looks like in practice

Imagine Joan, who lived alone in Ashford. She died in hospital after a short illness. Her daughter, Alison, was her next of kin.

The hospital informed Alison that a medical examiner would review the cause of death. Within two days, the medical examiner's office called to say the certificate had been sent to the register office and Alison could now book an appointment.

Alison booked an appointment for the following day, registered the death, and ordered six certified copies of the death certificate, one each for the bank, building society, pension provider, insurer, and two spares. She handed the green form to the funeral director Joan had already chosen.

Alison then used Tell Us Once to inform the relevant government departments. She found Joan's Will in a folder at home; it named Alison as executor and left everything to Alison and her brother equally. Alison called Squiggle, we talked through the estate, and we took on the administration so Alison could focus on the funeral and her own family.

Administering the estate

Everything the person owned (property, money, possessions) is their estate, and once the funeral is behind you it has to be administered. That work belongs to the executors named in the Will, and this factsheet does not cover it: the Grant of Probate, the reporting to HMRC and everything that follows are set out in our Estate Administration factsheet. Online accounts, subscriptions and anything held digitally are covered in our Digital Assets After Death factsheet.

You do not have to face any of it alone, and the first conversation costs nothing. Call us on 01233 659 796.

Common mistakes to avoid

Not ordering enough death certificates. It is a small cost at registration and a bigger delay later, because several institutions will want an original at the same time.

Assuming there is no Will. People keep Wills in many places: filing cabinets, solicitors' offices, safety deposit boxes, or registered on the Certainty national Will register. Always search thoroughly before assuming someone died without one.

Missing the registration deadline. You have 5 days from being told you can register. Missing this without good reason can cause complications. If there are genuine reasons for delay, contact the register office.

Not using Tell Us Once. It is easy to forget and results in unnecessary correspondence (including potential benefit overpayments that the estate may be asked to repay) if government departments are not notified promptly.

Questions? Book a free call

Pick a time that suits you and your local Squiggle consultant will call you. No charge, no obligation. Book a call or call 01233 659 796.

Talk to Squiggle: 01233 659 796 | hello@squiggleconsult.co.uk | www.squiggleconsult.co.uk | Book a free call: meet.squiggleconsult.co.uk

This factsheet is general information for England and Wales, not legal, tax or financial advice. Worked examples are hypothetical and for illustration only. Last reviewed: August 2026.