The Legal Side of Bereavement

Often people can feel overwhelmed and worried about what needs to be done legally following a death.

Even though there seems to be an awful lot to do, the first and most important thing to do is to look after yourself and those bereaved with you. Most administrative tasks can wait.

On a practical basis the first two things that need to be done are registering the death and arranging the funeral. Most other administrative tasks can wait until after the funeral has taken place.

If there is a will that appoints an Executor, they are the ones who must carry out these tasks on behalf of the estate. If there is no Executor, then it is the next of kin who has this authority.

Many people are concerned about whether or not bank accounts need to be closed, payments frozen etc and whilst these are important matters to attend to, they do not need to be done immediately. Any automatic payments into and out of a bank account after someone has died can be adjusted at a later stage if necessary. A bank account should not, however, be used after someone has passed away. The bank will, however, always allow payment out of an account to cover funeral expenses if they are provided with an invoice.

When registering the death, you may be offered a very useful service called “Tell Them Once” which can notify many of the statutory authorities such as the DWP, HMRC and the Local Authority’s services of a death. It’s then just left for you to lodge the death certificate with a person’s personal contacts such as their bank and pension company. When you do lodge a death certificate with the financial authorities, they will advise on what needs to be done to close an account or stop or obtain private pension payments They may simply want to see a copy of any will, ID from the Executors or next of kin and ask you to sign a withdrawal form. If there are significant sums in an account, they may require a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. Each bank has their own limits for requiring a grant so you must contact each bank individually.

If a Grant is required this is simply a process of confirming who has the authority to deal with an Estate and if any Inheritance Tax was due, that it has been paid. Probate can be applied for online or through a solicitor who can help with all the necessary forms and paperwork. A Grant is always required if the deceased owned property in their sole name.

Once access to accounts and property is obtained then it is the executor, of if no will, the Administrator appointed under the Grant’s, job to close accounts, sell property and use the proceeds to pay first any outstanding funeral account, then any legal fees, then any outstanding liabilities the deceased had including overpayment of DWP benefits. Any balance should then be distributed in accordance with the terms of the will or of there is no will, in accordance with the Law of Intestacy which states who will inherit.

The Executor or next of kin have quite a lot of responsibility and must take care to act properly, fairly and to protect themselves. Any expenses reasonably incurred or legal fees paid are costs that can all be paid out of the Estate and the Executor is not responsible themselves. Thought should always be given to taking whatever professional advice is necessary.

For additional advice concerning wills and probate, please visit https://www.oldhamindependentfuneralservices.co.uk/wills-probate/