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11 stages of dealing with a death

England & Wales

No matter how “expected” a death is - it still comes as a shock to loved ones
close to the deceased. However once the dreaded event happens things have to be done and done pretty quickly – usually by the closest next of kin – who in most cases will end up as the executor or administrator to the deceased.

Below is our guide as to what happens after a death in England and Wales. This is just a basic informational guide to help you follow the procedure. Most people need help through the process and Bereavement Legal Services consultants can take you through every step – so don’t worry you will not be left to do this on your own.

Stage 1 - Immediately after the death.

A medical certificate showing the cause of death must be obtained by
the next of kin. This will be in a sealed envelope addressed to the registrar.
If the death is at home the local doctor should be called and he or she will provide the certificate. The doctor should be called immediately the death occurs even if during the night. If the death is in hospital a Hospital doctor will provide the certificate. Normally these certificates are granted immediately. In a small minority of cases there may be unusual circumstances, such as in sudden or accidental deaths - and the certifying doctor may report matters to the Coroner, who may order a post mortem. In the case of a natural death in hospital the authorities may request the next of kin’s consent to a post mortem examination to assist medical knowledge.

At this point if the next of kin is aware of the deceased’s wish to donate
organs or his or her remains for medical research the doctors should be advised immediately. If the next of kin is aware that the deceased wished to be cremated the certifying doctor will obtain another certificate authorizing this from another doctor.

Stage 2 - Very soon after the death

Usually it is wise to call an undertaker – as soon as possible. Generally
bereaved families find the guidance and support of undertakers invaluable at a difficult time.

Undertakers will usually arrange to “lay out the body” and to remove it to an
agreed place usually in an undertakers parlour. Sometimes laying out is in the
home – depending on custom.

Stage 3 - Is there a will?

At this point the next of kin should try to establish if there is a will because
the will usually appoints an executor. The executor will be appointed as the
personal representative. They will deal with matters from now on. Frequently the next of kin knows of the will and is the same person appointed to make the arrangements.

 If there is no will then various relatives could take on the role of the personal representative. When there is no will the personal representative is called the administrator. The law sets out a strict order of preference as to who can become the administrator. No one can be compelled to take on this role and an unwilling relative may decline to take the post even if he or she is first in the legal order of preference.  Almost always someone on the preferred list is prepared to take on the role.

  If you are in doubt as to the legal position on taking things further at this stage – phone one of our consultants on 0845 8554400 for advice.

Stage 4 - Registering the Death.

Any death occurring in England and Wales must be registered with the Register of Births Marriages and Deaths within 5 days of the death. There is a wide range of people who may register the death but again it is usually done by close next of kin. There are registrar offices all over England and Wales. The death must be registered in the registry area where the death occurred.

If calling to register a death next of kin should take with them the medical certificate of death, and if available, the deceased’s marriage and birth certificates, their NHS medical certificate, and any documents showing state pensions or benefits payable to the deceased.

In addition to providing details of the deceased, the next of kin will be expected to give the registrar full details of the deceased’s spouse or civil partner.

Once the death is registered the person registering it will receive a certificate which will be needed for the funeral to proceed, a certificate enabling state pension and benefit issues to be dealt with, and for a further fee “extracts” (copies really) of the registration of death certificate which will help in dealing with the property of the deceased.

Stage 5 - Arranging the funeral

This can be a bit daunting and most people rely heavily on the help and guidance of funeral directors at this point. Here are just a few things which need to be decided:-

Is there to be a ceremony of some type?
Is there to be cremation or interment?
What dates and timescales are appropriate?
What notices are to be placed in the papers?
Is there to be a minister’s address?
Would a humanist ceremony be preferred?
Are there relatives to be informed?
What arrangements for flowers should there be?
Is there to be an address by a friend or relative?
Where will everything take place?
What are the costs likely to be?

But eventually all these decisions are made, and many British funerals follow a similar pattern – so lots of help on the arrangements is available.

Stage 6 - Dealing with the Property of the Deceased.

How things proceed now depends on whether there is a will or not. (see stage 3 above) Up to now – all the work can safely be done by next of kin. From this point on we would not recommend anyone proceeding further without legal advice. Personal legal liability rests with anyone taking the remaining steps and making any mistakes. We suggest you call 0845 8554400 for one of our packs and let us help you through the rest of the process.

Stage 7 - Appointing a Personal Representative

A personal representative must now be appointed. The personal representative will either be an executor or an administrator. The executor or administrator is the person eventually entitled to distribute the estate of the deceased. The appointment of a personal representative is granted by a section of the courts called the Probate Registry.

If there is a will and it appoints an executor an application will be made to the Probate Registry for a Grant of Probate which will appoint the executor as the personal representative.

If there is no will or the will does not mention an executor an application will be made to the Probate Registry for Grant of Letters of Administration, which will appoint an administrator. The law sets out exactly whom should be appointed as administrator. It will or usually is the next of kin.

If applying for either a Grant of Probate or a Grant of Letters of Administration you will be required to attend at least one interview to confirm details of the application.

Stage 8 - Grant of Representation

This term applies to both a Grant of Probate and a Grant of Letters of Administration. The Grant of Representation lawfully appoints the executor or administrator. The document of Grant of Representation can be shown to third parties to confirm the person named in it is entitled to lawfully deal with the deceased's property.

Stage 9 - Ingathering the estate

Armed with Grant of Representation the personal representative now “ingathers” the deceased’s property. This can be quite a long process even in relatively modest sized estates. A list of all the deceased’s estate consisting of assets and liabilities is prepared.  This is called the inventory of estate and it should contain everything the deceased owned less any debts due.  The inventory will bring out a final amount due to be distributed. Before the inventory is completed the personal representative is under a duty to place adverts of the death in particular publications. If  the adverts are not correctly placed the personal representative will remain personally liable to any creditors of the deceased that surface at any time in the future.

Stage 10 - Paying the debts due

Just as property is ingathered so effectively are debts. The executor or administrator once ingathering has started can also start paying off debts due, including for example funeral costs. There is an order of priority for payment of debts if it were likely that there was insufficient in the estate to make all payments.  Some debts such as funeral costs and administration expenses  are “privileged” and must be paid first. An extremely important point to note here is that any tax due to the Inland Revenue is payable (including Inheritance Tax). If the executor or administrator fails to pay the correct tax he or she is personally liable to the revenue for any shortfall – so we strongly recommend legal advice be taken before this point is reached.

Stage 11 - Distributing the estate

This can be a complex area. Property may be sold and monies distributed or property such as houses passed on to new owners. It all depends on the circumstances. If there is a will the executor must make over the property as stated in the will.

If there is no will the administrator must distribute the estate according to legal rules. The rules are designed to pay most of the estate over to any surviving spouse or children with rights of entitlement opening up to other relatives if there is no surviving spouse or children. The rules are extremely complex and we strongly recommend that you obtain legal advice.

It also has to be borne in mind that in all estates whether there is or isn't a will certain people can apply to the court for financial provision from the estate if they can show the will or the intestacy rules would have an unfair outcome on them.. Surviving spouses, former spouses who have not re-married, children, children of the family, dependants and cohabitants can all apply to the court for financial provision if they will not be receiving reasonable financial provision from the deceased's estate. This area is often difficult and very contentious and one which we believe should not be tackled without legal advice.

It is our strong view that distributing an estate without legal advice is a dangerous minefield and we do not recommend a DIY approach here. If an executor or administrator distributes the estate incorrectly he or she will become personally liable to any of the beneficiaries for the shortfall of their entitlement.    

Other Points to Note

Timescales – it is extremely difficult to place timescales on this type of work.
For legal reasons it is not safe to distribute any estates in under 6 months. At
Bereavement Legal Services we will pay out most estates between 6 and 12 months of death and larger estates between 1 and 2 years. However the legal executive cannot always control timescales in this work. Longer timescales are the norm for larger estates or can be caused by difficulties tracing people, tax issues, property sale issues, or disputes even.
Where the estate is small (currently under £5000) you do not need to obtain a Grant of Representation to distribute the estate. In this instance it is a much quicker process and one that does not normally require professional legal advice.

Insurance – at Bereavement Legal Services we have full professional indemnity insurance to cover our work, so in the unlikely event of a mistake by us no loss should accrue to any party. Anyone acting as an executor or administrator without legal advice will be doing so without any insurance cover and is laying himself or herself open to claims should things not be done properly.

Fees - Our first advisory telephone call or visits are completely free and without obligation. If you choose to use us Bereavement Legal Services we charge “time and line” fees only and at rates disclosed at the outset. This means you doing a lot of the preparatory work yourself and therefore not paying us to do it. We believe in working with you to keep fees reasonable. Some other institutions charge a percentage fee which can be as much as 4 % of the value of the estate. Our average fee to complete the Estate Administration is generally less than half that figure – but some Estate Administrations have more work than others. We do try to keep fees down for clients commensurate with doing the work properly.

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