Death certificates

Hi OP, funeral arranger here. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

If it was a palliative nursing home - which should have certified medical professionals - then I'm surprised they didn't have their own person who could certify the death. They would then send the MCCD (medical certificate for cause of death) paperwork to the registrar themselves and in turn you would be contacted by the registrar to make an appointment. You shouldn't have to notify the GP, as they should do this too.

With regard to death certificates, don't over order. My DH died in the summer and I ordered 10, expecting to have to send them to all and sundry. The only ones who asked for an original were the legal team who were handling probate for me. Everyone else, including the bank and insurance company, were happy with a scanned copy.

When my Dad died I was expecting that we would need to make an appointment to go to the Registrar to register the death, but she offered us the chance to do the whole thing over the phone, which was actually really handy, as we had already put all the documents in the living room and gone through them, so when she asked about his place of birth and various other details from his birth certificate (IIRC, father's occupation?!) I could just pull that out and read straight from the certificate.

In contrast to the experience mentioned above, the Registrar I spoke to was very kind and helpful, which was a relief.

Absolutely they have to wait, its useful to advise them asap so that they don't bother you until probate is done if that's the way the estate has to be sorted out.

Yes that was something I’m had forgotten. Make a note of birth and marriage details, NI i number and GP details when you register the death.

Equity release complains have ro wait for probate like everybody else. They cannot circumvent the law. I am not saying they are bullies, some are ok but don’t be hassled by them.

My father died last month in a nursing home. We couldn't book the appointment with the registrar until we had heard from the medical examiner that they had determined the cause of death. That took three working days. We bought four death certificates, but have only needed one - most places have accepted a photograph of the original, or just asked for the code on it. One thing that threw us was that the registrar asked for his place of birth - we had known it but couldn't bring it to mind at that rather stressful moment. I had to check it online on Births, Marriages and Deaths to remind myself. We also found the registrar oddly brusque in general, which wasn't exactly a problem, but did surprise us. Have since heard from a couple of friends that they had similar experiences (with different registrars).

Really sorry, it's a hard time for you.

Sorry for your loss.
You may only need one or two death certs and you can get more if you need them so I wouldn't buy too many. Lots of places take online ones, and many who need hard copies will post them back to you anyway once they have viewed them. Then you can the same one to post on to the next company.

Defo find the will. I hope it's signed and witnessed properly. If it's not in the house it may be in the safe keeping of your dads lawyer, if you know who they are.

As people have said POA stops on death. Did he have a will? Who is the executor? They are expected to handle all arrangements listed in the will. If there is no will, then this falls to the next of kin.
Depending on the value of your dad's 'estate' then it may need to go to probate. This doesn't delay having the funeral but can take some time and effects the timing of the distribution of the estate. We had to contact the equity release company when my MIL died. Do this as quickly as possible as their contracts sometimes states a time schedule where they expect to receive their share. It can be slightly brutal as they own a 'chunk' of the property and want their money back. Some are more sensitive than others
You'll also need to create a list of 'debts' (any existing care home fees not paid, the value of the equity release, funeral costs, any outstanding bills etc) as they will need to be paid before the estate can be distributed..

Tell his bank last.

So sorry for your loss OP.

💐Sorry for your loss. Take a deep breath, there is no rush, take care of yourself and those close.
If you haven’t already seen this, and live in UK, then you will find it helpful:
https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

Do it by listing things on the left with space in between entry. Divide the page into 3;more columns... Good idea, but I’d do it an a spreadsheet so it’s easy to make space for extra things, and to move things from the “next action” column to the “completed” column. Also easy to highlight things according to their current level of urgency

Now that you have had a bit of time, take a deep breath. Nothing is time critical except your own well being. Don’t rush around doing things without gibing yourself time to grieve. When you start to make list. Do it by listing things on the left with space in between entry. Divide the page into 3;more columns.

the first column date thing was started, second column date for further action, last column date completed.
underneath each item leave space for notes, phone numbers addresses and person you spoke with.

this is a great stress buster because you do it once and you don’t have to keep digging around for info.

It’s worth checking for a will now, as the will may have instructions for his funeral, as may the attached letter of wishes. You should get the will pack from his solicitor, who will want to see the death certificate and your id.

But apart from funeral wishes, you can put the will aside for now.

You should also check whether he’s already paid for a Funeral plan.

If there isn’t a funeral plan, check online for funeral directors in the area and their websites. They usually have lists of prices, and they have to provide a “standardised list of prices” so you can compare. This will keep you occupied for the rest of today. The time between now and the funeral is one that-can be filled with activity, and that carries you along for a while.

You’ll also need to find his address book and which family and friends need to be told. Tell one person of each group and ask them to tell the rest. Going over his last few days with umpteen well meaning relatives won’t help you at all

I think that's really overkill, and expensive (£250!) , unless speed is a real necessity. All the institutions I've dealt with only wanted to see one, they didn't need to keep it and returned it straight back to me, so you can just send the same certificate to multiple people in turn .

and as others have said, many are now just happy with an uploaded scan of an original.

I got 3 death certificates and that was plenty

I bought ten as my dad had drilled in to me that loads were needed. But I've used 2. All the banks, credit card companies, utilities etc have accepted a scanned upload.

Don't worry about timelines. Once the doctor has sent the form through to the registry office you'll be able to book your appointment. They'll be helpful and make things easy for you.

If you have a funeral directors you want to use they can be really helpful too.

I'm so sorry for your loss . Yes contact the GPs to ensure his death has been certified or when that will happen.The certifying doctor will send the certificate to the registrar so they can register his death. If you have a preferred funeral director also get in touch with them on Monday. They are well used to these situations and will keep you right and help you. You don't need the death certificate to be in touch with them and to get the funeral plans started, you only need it for the funeral to actually take place and depending where you are that won't be for anything between a week and a month - but they will keep you right on that.

It's going to be okay. There are people who will help you, you won't be left to do this on your own x.

I'm sorry for your loss. When my DH died I used the Tell Us Once service after the death was registered. The person to register the death can be either next of kin or the person who was present at the death. Many organisations were happy for me to scan the certificate and then email it to them,so I didn't have many to buy. Speak to the bereavement team at banks, building society etc. I found they really were very good. And BTW although you might feel like you have to do everything really quickly, you do have some time.

Purchase twice as many death certificates as you think you'll need! We got 20 for my MIL, and it wasn't enough, as we discovered she had so many separate investments, policies, bank accounts etc.

The equity release scheme will be a little more complicated. When you get through to them ask to speak ro the probate team. When contacting any institution, banks or utilities, always ask for probate team I have found them very helpful and kind.

For the utilities you will be asked to fill out a meter reading then the accounts will be frozen. When keeping filling in the probate form don’t forget to estimate any outstanding bills. It is definitely worth contacting The Probate Office to discuss the equity release situation. They are very kind and helpful. Don’t be bullied into paying a bank or solicitors for probate. .It is very simple. You need to get two valuations for every property. You need to tell dads house insurers and then visit the property once a month so as not to invalidate the insurance. Cancel all insurance policies except buildings and contents insurance.

Now is a good time to invest in a good filing system for all the paper work. I used a concertina file. Also get some large envelopes and large letter stamps. Having these ready reduces the stress and time you need to spend.

Try not to get too stressed. As others said, when you go to register the death you will be given a link to the Tell Us Once service where you can go online and let all the various government departments know so that any benefits are stopped, council tax is suspended etc.

After this, and making the funeral arrangements, the main priority if his house is not empty is to make sure it's secure, that any valuables have been removed and that it's insured.

When you talk to companies like banks, utility companies etc look for contact details for their bereavement departments - most large companies have them and they will be more sympathetic and know how how to handle things. Things like gas and electricity bills can be put on hold until the house is sold if there isn't any money in the estate to pay for it straight away.

Did your Dad leave a will, @Silverfoxxx? If so, that's the key document now. Are you the executor named in the will? If there is no will, the closest relative should be appointed to sort out the estate. I have no experience of that but there's a lot of advice to be found on the gov.uk websites and probably also on Citizens Advice Bureau and other reputable charities.

POA is only valid whilst a person is living

The POA stops being valid after the deaths any way so it would not been of help. In England there is a system called Tell us once. It is brilliant. The Registrar of Death will help you with it.