Bereavement checklist

1. Contact the registrar of births, deaths and marriages to register the death. A death must be registered within five days, the five days starts once the registry office has received the Medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) if the coroner is involved this may be extended.
2. Once you have registered the death of your loved one the registrar will offer you the ‘Tell Us Once’ service. This service will inform various government departments of the death.
3. Start to make funeral arrangements with your Coventry Funeral Service funeral director or funeral arranger. They will guide you through what happens next and decisions you will need to make.

The person registering the death would usually be a close relative or may be the Executor of the will. If there is no close relative, then one of the following can register the death:

• someone who was present at the death
• the occupier of the house or an official from the public building where the death occurs, e.g. the hospital
• the person making the arrangements with the funeral director

• The local council - to update services such as Council Housing, Housing Benefit, Council Tax, Blue Badge and the Electoral Register
• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax, Child Benefit and Tax Credits claims (contact HMRC separately for business taxes, like VAT)
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport.
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to update benefits including State Pension and Universal Credit
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a driving licence and to remove registered keeper details
• Public Sector or Armed Forces Pension Schemes - to update pension records

• try to locate a will
• if there is no will found, you will need to decide who will deal with the deceased’s estate; they may need to contact probate
• surviving relatives or friends of the deceased may need some legal advice

There will probably be far more people to inform about the death than you first thought. It might be helpful to make a list of:

• family and friends
• financial i.e., bank, credit cards, accountant, mortgages and pensions
• household i.e., energy suppliers, Council Tax, landlord and insurances
• health i.e., doctor dentist, and opticians
• subscriptions i.e., Netflix, Sky TV, charities and Trade Union

You may be entitled to make a claim with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) for a funeral payment.  Call: 0800 1512012. You can also claim by post. Download the claim form SF200.

We are here to offer you as much or as little support as you need and we will go through everything at a pace that suits you.

We can make funeral arrangements with you during a home visit or an online video call.