To wonder what you do when someone dies?

[ACupOfTeaSolvesEverything]

I know how you get the death certificate. No post mortem needed. What else do I need to do? My mum just died and I’ve never done this before.

You need to take the death certificate when you register the death. Google to find the closest registrar to you. Ring them and make an appointment.

I’m so sorry for your loss.

The hospital will give you a form which you give to the registrar to officially register the death. The hospital should be able to give you the number for the local registrar so you can make an appointment.

Ask for 2-3 copies of the death certificate as you may need to send originals when dealing with banks, insurance etc. They will send back but might take a while.

OP,

See the undertaker. They will guide you through everything.

Shopping around for the funeral director is really good advice, and something I wish I had been told. I found out afterwards I could have paid less. Funerals can be shockingly expensive.

You take the hospital death certificate when you register the death to get the official death certificate. While registering take your mum's details/blue badge/passport /driving licence etc and they will fill in the forms for the Tell us once service which will let most government offices know - hmrc, pensions, any benefits etc

Cancel any pensions/ benefits the deceased person was receiving to avoid overpayments. There is a service called tell us once which will notify relevant departments.

So sorry for your loss. The only thing to sort at the moment is the paperwork. The hospital will give you the medical death certificate signed by a doctor. You then need to make an appointment with the registrar to register the death. You take the medical certificate and birth and marriage certificates if you have them. Proof of national insurance number is also useful if you can find it. The registrar will give you the official death certificate, and a form for the funeral director. If the tell use once service is available, you'll get an ID number and contact details for them. They will be helpful and explain everything. They will ask you if you'd like copies of the certificate for a small fee, I'd suggest getting between 5 and 10 which they'll give you at the same time. You'll need these later for sorting it the estate, but don't worry about that at the moment.

Those are the first steps, the funeral director will help you with that side of things, and probate (sorting out the will and the estate) can wait for a while.

Tell us once service which will let most government offices know - hmrc, pensions, any benefits etc

This is now done automatically, when you register the death.

The hospital give you a medical certificate of the death

You then have to take it to the local Registrar to get the death registered and obtain the death certificate.

The hospital should also be able to tell you where you get the death registered.

Sorry for your loss.
Contact the register office in the area in which your mum passed away. You will need the medical certificate from the hospital when you go, they may not let you book until you have it. You’ll be asked for her current & previous names, occupation, place of birth, current address, dads name and occupation.

Most but not all local authorities do Tell us Once. Some have different levels of service, we supply a unique number for the family to use to access the service. I understand it does work and will tell local government and central government departments.
Take care

The hospital said they will give me the death certificate. Do I still need to register the death?

Yes you take the document which the hospital give you to the Register Office to register the death. They will issue you with the Certificate which you will need for all of the legal things you need to do.

There’s only two things you need to concentrate on right now.

1. Register the death at the register office.
2. instruct an undertaker.

But there’s no point in doing these until Tuesday (assuming it’s a bank holiday where you are tomorrow). The hospital will look after your Mum and the undertaker will collect here ASAP after the bank holiday.

After that, you can concentrate on arranging the funeral. Everything else can wait for as long as you need it to. I’m so sorry

I am so sorry for your loss. With love .

As an HR director may I advise please that you do not close your mum's bank account straight away. Please wait until final payments owed to her have been received.

The hospital won't give you a death certificate.
They will have given you a piece of paper which you need to take to your local registry office. Thus is where you register the death and They will give you a death certificate

Right thank you.

I'm so terribly sorry. I went through this three weeks ago when my Mum died. The practicalities are:

Contact a funeral director - they will arrange the funeral for you. Shop around though, prices vary. They will also arrange practicalities such as the removal of a body from the hospital.

Tell those people that you want to tell.

Register the death. You have 5 days to do this. You need to make an appointment with the registrar (as you would to register a birth). They should have a service that means that they will tell the DWP etc. You have to pay for the death certificate (£11 in England) and may want more than one copy. The registrar will talk you through it.

If your Mum had a will, contact the solicitor to get a copy. Whoever is listed as the executor does the practicalities.

Then stop and breathe for a while.

You can then think about life insurance policies, changing utility bills, bank accounts etc.

There will be someone at the undertaker/funeral director over the holiday. You can ring them and they will reassure you, help you through the process. Just take your time, on every thing follows another. Try to eat and sleep if you can, look after yourself and dad. You will get through it

Check out...

The good funeral guide.. For lovely directors in your area. Bit like good pub guide.
Don't feel pressured just have look and read some reviews.

On funeral you need to know a budget and a good one will help you with that rather than flog ornate coffins and celebrants if you don't need.

There may be 'no solicitor' who has the will, there may not be one and it may be hidden away! For safe keeping.
Some councils offer, one stop shop, which means when we you register the death they inform you car and lots of other people

So sorry to hear this ACupOfTeaSolvesEverything my mum died four weeks ago at home. Same as yours, no PM needed. We spent hours with mum saying goodbye but I also did not have a clue what to do. Luckily my cousin came and helped me get in touch with the funeral directors.

Sorry about your mum
Things vary depending on where you live.
Here in NI you get death certificate and arrange funeral. Register the death with council offices, the undertaker will give you a green form .
That is the main , asyour dad is alive then you might not have to do much as he will likely keep the house.

I'm.so sorry about your mum.

My dad died a few months ago. he died in hospital and the death was expected but it took 6 days for the hospital to get the form signed for my mum to take to the Registrars Office which really stressed her as you're supposed to do it within 5 days. The Registrar was lovely about it though.

Has your mum got a funeral.plan? If so that will say which undertaker etc she will have. if not, you need to sort out an undertaker.