Bereavement

Author
Discussion

NRG1976

Original Poster:

1,374 posts

17 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Hi, my dad sadly passed away over the weekend after battling against a long-term illness. I’m dealing with all the formalities on behalf of my mum.

I just wondered, do I need a legal person to manage his estate, or given everything is to go to my mum (as per his last will instructions) does that mean it is something I can manage myself?

Thank you.

Mabozza

569 posts

194 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
condolences to you and your mum.

Yes you can do it all yourself, I took care of everything when my dad passed away, it was fairly straight forward and mostly dealing with banks and insurance policies etc as everything went to my mum. I also did my mums estate when she passed, a bit more involved but no lawyer needed.

NRG1976

Original Poster:

1,374 posts

17 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Mabozza said:
condolences to you and your mum.

Yes you can do it all yourself, I took care of everything when my dad passed away, it was fairly straight forward and mostly dealing with banks and insurance policies etc as everything went to my mum. I also did my mums estate when she passed, a bit more involved but no lawyer needed.
Thank you so much, I was hoping that was the case. Appreciate the prompt response.

valiant

11,322 posts

167 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Sorry for your loss but if your dad had straight forward affairs then it’s pretty easy to do yourself.

Use the government’s ’Tell us once’ service. This will stop and inform are relevant authorities and works surprisingly well although it can miss one or two things.

Tell the banks but be warned that they will instantly freeze accounts and only release monies early for funeral expenses. (Although I’m not sure how that works with joint accounts).

With any company (inc banks) google their bereavement dept. They are usually fantastic and much better than going through normal customer support lines.

Make a list of who to inform. Things like car insurance and the like often get forgotten about so have a look at your dad’s direct debits as a starting point

Get multiple death certs. Some companies will want to see it before closing accounts and this will save you time having to wait for it to be returned before sending it off again.

Take your time and it will take a fair while to sort. Probate forms are not that scary for bog standard cases.

eliot

11,727 posts

261 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
valiant said:
Sorry for your loss but if your dad had straight forward affairs then it’s pretty easy to do yourself.

Use the government’s ’Tell us once’ service. This will stop and inform are relevant authorities and works surprisingly well although it can miss one or two things.

Tell the banks but be warned that they will instantly freeze accounts and only release monies early for funeral expenses. (Although I’m not sure how that works with joint accounts).

With any company (inc banks) google their bereavement dept. They are usually fantastic and much better than going through normal customer support lines.

Make a list of who to inform. Things like car insurance and the like often get forgotten about so have a look at your dad’s direct debits as a starting point

Get multiple death certs. Some companies will want to see it before closing accounts and this will save you time having to wait for it to be returned before sending it off again.

Take your time and it will take a fair while to sort. Probate forms are not that scary for bog standard cases.
^ This 100% very good summary. As noted, if his affairs are straightforward and indeed everything goes to the spouse it's pretty easy to deal with.

Be careful if they had a car - because it becomes untaxed.

alscar

5,370 posts

220 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
eliot said:
valiant said:
Sorry for your loss but if your dad had straight forward affairs then it’s pretty easy to do yourself.

Use the government’s ’Tell us once’ service. This will stop and inform are relevant authorities and works surprisingly well although it can miss one or two things.

Tell the banks but be warned that they will instantly freeze accounts and only release monies early for funeral expenses. (Although I’m not sure how that works with joint accounts).

With any company (inc banks) google their bereavement dept. They are usually fantastic and much better than going through normal customer support lines.

Make a list of who to inform. Things like car insurance and the like often get forgotten about so have a look at your dad’s direct debits as a starting point

Get multiple death certs. Some companies will want to see it before closing accounts and this will save you time having to wait for it to be returned before sending it off again.

Take your time and it will take a fair while to sort. Probate forms are not that scary for bog standard cases.
^ This 100% very good summary. As noted, if his affairs are straightforward and indeed everything goes to the spouse it's pretty easy to deal with.

Be careful if they had a car - because it becomes untaxed.
As you have already received some very good advice above given the relative simplicity of what is needed to be done, I won't reiterate it other than to say that also if the car Insurance was in your Father's name you also need to call the Insurer irrespective of whether your Mother was also on his policy as a named driver.
Ask for the bereavement team when you do.
Sincere condolences to you and your Mother.




Mr_J

426 posts

54 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Check out https://www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk/ it's like Tell Us Once but for financial services. It may make things easier.

Having gone through the same thing over the last couple of weeks, give yourself some time. I jumped straight into things and wish I'd actually taken some time to grieve. My plan is to do that after the funeral tomorrow.

Edited by Mr_J on Monday 19th August 12:57

bigpriest

1,801 posts

137 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Sorry to hear about your loss. Take your time, although it's sometimes a nice diversion to deal with the admin.

You've probably already seen this but for a Government guide it's quite straightforward. Step-By-Step:
https://www.gov.uk/when-someone-dies

Byker28i

67,917 posts

224 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Thank you too, thats very handy

languagetimothy

1,241 posts

169 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
sorry for your Loss OP. tough times.

my father died many years ago quite young, and i was in my early 20s. if i recall correctly it seemed that despite our mother still being alive (and in a loving marriage with her late husband) most of it not everything passed to my sister and I. something like that. we of course signed everything over to our mother.

more recently my mother died (aged 86) and she had a will so that makes things a bit easier.

as others have mentioned speak to bereavement contact at banks we found them very good and everything was completed quite easily- you will need to provide death certificates to various banks, insurance and other places so get some additional official copies.

my brother in law set up a spread sheet with everything on it. receipts and expenses to keep details and other notes as a "to do" list and contacts and name of people you had spoken to and various institiutions.


all the best OP

Edited by languagetimothy on Monday 19th August 11:22

Rayny

1,398 posts

208 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Mr_J said:
Check out https://www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk/, it's like Tell Us Once but for financial services. It may make things easier.

Having gone through the same thing over the last couple of weeks, give yourself some time. I jumped straight into things and wish I'd actually taken some time to grieve. My plan is to do that after the funeral tomorrow.
When opening the above link - Ensure that you remove the comma after the .co.uk/

Mr_J

426 posts

54 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Rayny said:
Mr_J said:
Check out https://www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk/, it's like Tell Us Once but for financial services. It may make things easier.

Having gone through the same thing over the last couple of weeks, give yourself some time. I jumped straight into things and wish I'd actually taken some time to grieve. My plan is to do that after the funeral tomorrow.
When opening the above link - Ensure that you remove the comma after the .co.uk/
Link fixed.

NRG1976

Original Poster:

1,374 posts

17 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
valiant said:
Sorry for your loss but if your dad had straight forward affairs then it’s pretty easy to do yourself.

Use the government’s ’Tell us once’ service. This will stop and inform are relevant authorities and works surprisingly well although it can miss one or two things.

Tell the banks but be warned that they will instantly freeze accounts and only release monies early for funeral expenses. (Although I’m not sure how that works with joint accounts).

With any company (inc banks) google their bereavement dept. They are usually fantastic and much better than going through normal customer support lines.

Make a list of who to inform. Things like car insurance and the like often get forgotten about so have a look at your dad’s direct debits as a starting point

Get multiple death certs. Some companies will want to see it before closing accounts and this will save you time having to wait for it to be returned before sending it off again.

Take your time and it will take a fair while to sort. Probate forms are not that scary for bog standard cases.
Thank you, that is a very helpful summary.

NRG1976

Original Poster:

1,374 posts

17 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
Thanks for all the other responses, will take a look at the suggestions now.

Wacky Racer

38,972 posts

254 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
If his affairs are straight forward, yes you can do it yourself, but if he had shares, (For example) in several firms, best engage a solicitor, should not cost too much, and they can take away a lot of the stress at a worrying time.

Sorry for your loss.


anyoldcardave

768 posts

74 months

Monday 19th August
quotequote all
valiant said:
Sorry for your loss but if your dad had straight forward affairs then it’s pretty easy to do yourself.



Get multiple death certs. Some companies will want to see it before closing accounts and this will save you time having to wait for it to be returned before sending it off again.

.
Sorry for your loss, look after mum,

The above quote is very good advice, you will have to pay for more than one, but will save you more time and hassle than you could think possible, getting enough first time, no one will accept copies, only hard original documents.

Good luck with everything.