Nothing is as challenging in life as dealing with the loss of a loved one. Hopefully it’s not something you’ll have to deal with on a regular basis, so it’s not surprising that you may be unfamiliar with the process of registering a death and distributing the deceased’s estate.
However, this unfamiliarity can create additional anxiety while dealing with the grief of losing someone close to you, which in turn, can make an already difficult time even more stressful. As part of Dying Matters Week, which takes place from Monday 5 May to Sunday 11 May 2025, we have created a list of five important actions that could help you if you’re dealing with a loved one’s estate.
The awareness week aims to promote conversations with family and friends about death, dying and grief, so that it’s a subject we are more comfortable addressing. Read on to discover the five steps you might want to consider, and why they could reduce stress at an already difficult time.
1. Look for a will
While finding the deceased’s will might sound like an obvious thing to do, having to deal with the loss of a loved one may mean you don’t do it as soon as possible. Yet it’s often a good idea to check for a will as quickly as you can, as it may contain instructions about how the funeral should be conducted.
It could also state who the executor should be, who is the person the deceased chose to deal with their:
- property
- financial affairs
- debts
- insurance payments
- pensions.
Typically, the will provides direction on how the deceased wanted their wealth to be distributed. If you have a loved one who has not written a will yet, it’s worth remembering that without one, their wealth may not go to the people they would want it to.
While you might assume that someone’s wealth automatically goes to their loved ones if they die without a will, this may not be the case. This is because their estate will be subject to intestacy rules, which means the estate must be distributed using strict guidelines that prioritise certain family members over others.
This is regardless of how close the deceased was to each family member, which might mean their wealth goes to someone they would rather it didn’t. Furthermore, no consideration will be given to those considered to be non-family, which could include someone the deceased cohabited with, or a stepchild.
2. Contact the following key Government departments if necessary
You will need to notify Government departments of the deceased’s passing, so that benefits or services can be cancelled. The departments you will need to contact include:
- HM Revenue & Customs for outstanding taxes and some state benefits
- Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) for the State Pension or Universal Credit
- Child Benefit Office for any relevant benefit payouts
- Local authority for council tax, parking permits, social services
- UK Identity and Passport Service to cancel the deceased’s passport
- DVLA to cancel the driving licence, vehicle tax and change ownership details
- Land Registry to change ownership on any inherited property if needed.
Many registry offices provide the Government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service. This allows you to notify several departments at once, meaning you can deal with deceased’s Council Tax, state benefits, passport, driving licence and State Pension more efficiently.
3. Check for a funeral plan
Before making any burial or cremation arrangements, you might want to check whether the deceased had a funeral plan in place. If so, the burial or cremation may already have been arranged and paid for.
If you believe one is in place but can’t find it, you could use the My Funeral Matters tracing service to locate it. You might also want to see whether details of a plan have been left in the deceased’s will, or with the deceased’s solicitor. You could also contact local funeral directors to see if a plan has been taken out with them.
4. If the deceased had life cover, contact the provider
It’s worth confirming whether the deceased had any life cover that will pay out with their passing. If a policy is in place, the payment might be able to settle a mortgage or Inheritance Tax liability.
When you contact the provider to make a claim, have the deceased’s policy number and details to hand as it will speed up the process of receiving the monies. If you don’t have the details, the provider should be able to trace the life cover using the deceased’s:
- name
- date of birth
- address.
Please note that the provider will normally ask to see a hardcopy of the death certificate to validate the claim.
5. Deal with the estate’s Inheritance Tax liability (if it has one)
If you are acting as the estate’s executor or administrator, you’ll need to understand if there is an Inheritance Tax (IHT) liability. Normally, this tax is charged at 40%.
Generally speaking, the tax is charged on the portion of the estate that’s above the nil-rate band (NRB) threshold, which is the amount you can have in your estate before it becomes liable to the tax.
In 2025/26 the NRB is £325,000 per person, or in certain circumstances, it can be combined if you’re married or in a civil partnership. This means the NRB would become £650,000.
Additionally, you may qualify for further reliefs that could increase the amount you’re allowed to have in your estate before IHT is charged to £500,000 or £1 million respectively.
When assets are transferred to a surviving spouse or civil partner, there is usually no IHT liability. For further information on this, please read our informative guide on IHT.
Get in touch
While we hope the following blog is helpful, please note that it’s not an in-depth list of the steps you may need to take when someone passes away. For a more detailed explanation of the actions you may need to take, please read our comprehensive guide on dealing with a loved one’s estate.
As one of the UK’s largest independent financial advice companies, we understand how someone’s estate and wealth is intertwined. That’s why every one of our professional advisers are qualified estate planners, and have a deep working knowledge around:
- will writing
- dealing with probate
- how IHT works and how to mitigate a liability
- using trusts to protect wealth.
This means our financial advisers have an excellent understanding of estates and probate, so that they can help you to pass the deceased’s wealth on to loved ones as smoothly and tax efficiently as possible.
If you would like to discuss how we may be able to help you, please call us on 0333 010 0008 to arrange no obligation initial meeting with one of our independent financial advisers.
7 May 2025