When someone dies, the first steps are the same for almost everyone: the death is confirmed and the cause checked by a medical examiner, you register the death within 5 days, you tell the government once using Tell Us Once, and you arrange the funeral. After that comes the estate: finding the Will, working out what the person owned and owed, and applying for probate if it's needed. None of it needs a solicitor. This checklist takes you through it in order.
Key Takeaways
- Register the death within 5 days of the medical examiner's office confirming you can, including weekends and bank holidays.
- Order several certified copies of the death certificate when you register. Banks, pension providers and insurers will each want to see one.
- Tell Us Once lets you tell HMRC, the DWP, the Passport Office, the DVLA and the local council in one go. Banks and other private companies still need telling yourself.
- The funeral is normally paid from the estate. Most banks will pay the funeral director's bill straight from the account of the person who died, before probate.
- If the home will be empty, call the insurer straight away. Standard cover usually stops once a property has been unoccupied for 30 days.
- Get any car off the road. Once the bank accounts are frozen, the vehicle tax direct debit stops, and the car can end up untaxed and uninsured.
- Funeral costs, a headstone and the person's debts all come off the value of the estate for inheritance tax.
This guide covers deaths in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules and deadlines.
In the first few days
The death is confirmed. A doctor confirms the death and contacts the medical examiner. The medical examiner checks the cause of death and may offer to talk it through with you. You don't have to speak to them if you'd rather not (GOV.UK).
Contact a funeral director. If the person died at home, the funeral director can collect them once the death has been confirmed. If they died in hospital or a care home, staff will explain what happens next. You don't have to choose a funeral director straight away, and you can compare prices: every funeral director must publish a price list for their standard services (GOV.UK).
Look for the Will. Do this early, because it may include funeral wishes and names the Executors, the people who will deal with the estate. Check the person's papers, their solicitor or Will writer, and whether the Will was stored professionally. Our guide on where to store your Will explains where Wills are usually kept.
Make the home safe. If the person lived alone, lock up, look after any pets, and see the next section about insurance straight away.
If the death is sudden or unexplained, it may be reported to a coroner. That can delay registration and the funeral, and the coroner's office will explain what happens (GOV.UK).
Don't forget the home insurance and the car
These two are easily forgotten in the first few weeks, and both can turn into expensive problems.
Home insurance on an empty property. Standard home insurance usually stops covering a property once it has been unoccupied for 30 days. The longest we've come across on a standard buildings and contents policy is 60 days. It's one of the things almost everyone overlooks, and in our experience it can mean no cover for anything at all: not fire, not flood, not a burst pipe in the winter, not a break-in. Phone the insurer as soon as you can, tell them the owner has died and the house is empty, and arrange unoccupied property insurance until the house is sold or passed on. The insurer will usually want regular checks on the property, so ask what they need.
Cars left on the road. When the banks are told about the death, the person's accounts are frozen, so any direct debits stop, including the vehicle tax. The car can then quickly become untaxed, and the motor insurance in the person's name won't cover anyone else to drive it. An untaxed car must not be kept on a public road. Move it onto a drive or into a garage, and if it won't be used for a while, declare it off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). If someone is keeping the car, they'll need to tax and insure it in their own name.
Register the death within 5 days
You must register the death within 5 days of the medical examiner's office confirming you can, and the 5 days include weekends and bank holidays. If you need longer, tell the register office straight away (GOV.UK).
Book an appointment with the local register office. It's usually a close relative who registers, but someone else present at the death or arranging the funeral can do it. The registrar will ask for the person's details, such as their full name, date and place of birth, last address and occupation, and whether they were married or in a civil partnership.
When you register, you'll get:
- The certificate for burial or cremation (often called "the green form"). Give it to the funeral director. The funeral can't take place without it.
- A Tell Us Once reference number, unless the registrar completes Tell Us Once with you there and then.
- Certified copies of the death certificate, if you order them. These usually cost £12.50 each at the register office. Order enough at the start: one for each bank, building society, pension provider and insurer. Sending several at once saves weeks of waiting for a single copy to come back each time.
Tell the government once, with Tell Us Once
Tell Us Once lets you report the death to most government organisations in one go, including HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions (State Pension and benefits), the Passport Office, the DVLA and the local council. You must use it within 28 days of getting your reference number (GOV.UK).
Tell Us Once doesn't cover private organisations. You'll still need to tell them yourself:
- banks and building societies
- mortgage lender or landlord
- insurers (home, car, life)
- workplace and private pensions
- gas, electricity, water, phone and broadband
- the GP, dentist and any regular deliveries or subscriptions
Many banks and utility companies take part in the free Death Notification Service, which lets you tell several of them at once.
Arrange the funeral, and how it's paid for
Check first whether the person left funeral wishes in their Will, or had a pre-paid funeral plan or life insurance meant to cover it. A local funeral director can help you check for a plan (GOV.UK).
The funeral is normally paid from the estate, the money the person left. You don't have to wait for probate: in our experience, most banks will pay the funeral director's invoice directly from the account of the person who died, as long as there's enough in it. Ask the funeral director for the invoice and send it to the bank with a copy of the death certificate.
If you're on certain benefits and struggling to pay, you may be able to get a Funeral Expenses Payment from the government.
Which costs come off the value of the estate?
When you work out the value of the estate for probate and inheritance tax, you can deduct:
| Cost | Can it be deducted? |
|---|---|
| Funeral costs | Yes, if reasonable |
| A headstone or gravestone | Yes (HMRC Statement of Practice 7/1987) |
| Reasonable mourning expenses, such as flowers | Yes |
| Debts owed at the date of death: credit cards, loans, bills, care fees, tax | Yes |
| A mortgage in the person's sole name | Yes |
| A joint debt, such as a joint mortgage | Only the person's share, and it's left out of the probate figures |
Keep every receipt and invoice. You'll need the totals when you value the estate, and the Executors will need them for the estate accounts.
Then: the estate and probate
Once the funeral is over, the Executors (or, if there's no Will, the closest relative) deal with the estate:
- Work out what the person owned and owed on the date they died. Write to each bank, pension provider and insurer for the figures.
- Check for inheritance tax. HMRC's free inheritance tax checker helps. Most estates don't owe any.
- Apply for probate, if it's needed. For most straightforward estates you can do this yourself online, and the only cost is the probate fee. Our step-by-step guide explains how to apply for probate yourself.
- Collect in the money, pay the debts and share out the rest as the Will says. If there's no Will, the law decides who inherits: see what happens if you die without a Will.
There's no rush to start this in the first few weeks. The early days are for registering the death, the funeral and family.
Frequently asked questions
How long do you have to register a death?
In England and Wales, 5 days from the medical examiner's office confirming you can register, including weekends and bank holidays. If you need longer, tell the register office straight away.
How many death certificates do I need?
Order one for each organisation that holds money or a policy for the person: each bank and building society, pension provider and insurer. Several copies at £12.50 each when you register is usually cheaper and quicker than ordering more later.
Who pays for the funeral?
The funeral is normally paid from the estate. Most banks will pay the funeral director directly from the account of the person who died, before probate. If whoever arranges the funeral pays it themselves, they can usually claim it back from the estate first, before anything is shared out.
Do I need a solicitor when someone dies?
Usually not. Registering the death, Tell Us Once, arranging the funeral and, for most straightforward estates, applying for probate are all things you can do yourself. Professional help is worth paying for if inheritance tax is due, the Will is unclear or disputed, or the estate is complicated.
What happens to home insurance when someone dies?
Tell the insurer as soon as possible. Standard home insurance usually stops covering a property that has been empty for 30 days (60 days at most on the policies we've seen), so you'll normally need specialist unoccupied property insurance until the home is sold or someone moves in.
What if there's no Will?
The same first steps apply. Afterwards, the closest relative applies for letters of administration instead of probate, and the law decides who inherits.
The bottom line
The first days after a death follow the same pattern for almost everyone: register the death within 5 days, order enough death certificates, use Tell Us Once, find the Will and arrange the funeral, paid from the estate. Don't forget to call the home insurer if the house will be empty, and to get any car off the road. The estate and probate can wait until you're ready. If you're unsure about any of it, our Free Probate Advice Line is open to everyone: call 0300 303 9000 and say you were referred by Direct Wills.
Related guides: How to apply for probate yourself · Choosing your Executors · Where to store your Will
About this guide
This guide was written and checked by the Downloadawill Will Team. It explains the steps after a death in general terms and isn't legal advice for your own situation. Deadlines and services are from GOV.UK and were correct in November 2026. Downloadawill is a trading style of Direct Wills. All our Will Writers are Members of The Society of Will Writers. We've been writing Wills for people in England and Wales since 1997. Read more about us.
Not sure where to start?
Our Free Probate Advice Line puts you through to a probate expert at Kings Court Trust. Call 0300 303 9000 and say you were referred by Direct Wills. It’s open to everyone, with no obligation, whether or not you made your Will with us.
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