What practical steps should you take after a death?
When someone dies, a small number of legal tasks have deadlines and a much larger number do not. Our step-by-step guide walks through the whole sequence — from the first phone call to closing the last account:
- Get the medical certificate and, if required, speak to the coroner — covered in our what to do when someone dies checklist.
- Register the death within 5 days at the local register office — see how to register a death.
- Use Tell Us Once to inform government departments in one go — see how Tell Us Once works.
- Arrange the funeral — check the will first for funeral wishes.
- Deal with the estate — find out whether you need probate with our probate checker, then follow the probate guide and executor checklist.
What should an executor do first?
Being named executor is a duty, not a race. The role — valuing the estate, applying for the grant, paying debts, distributing what remains — is explained in plain English in what an executor does, with a printable sequence in the executor checklist. If there is no will, the process is nearly identical except that the intestacy rules decide who inherits and who may apply.
What should you do for the people you would leave behind?
Almost everyone who administers an estate comes away thinking the same thing: I need to make this easier for my own people. If the estate you are dealing with has no will, you can see exactly what that costs a family in time, money and uncertainty. When you are ready, making your own will is the kindest admin task you will ever finish — and it takes about 15 minutes.