What to do, in order
Someone has died. Take it one step at a time.
There is a lot of paperwork and almost none of it is urgent. These are the few things that are, including one payment that is worth far more if you claim it in the first three months.
Do these first
Not because they are the most important, but because they run out. Everything further down the page will still be there next week.
Register the death, then use Tell Us Once
When you register, the registrar offers Tell Us Once. It notifies the DWP, HMRC, the passport office, the DVLA and the council in one go, so you do not have to write to each of them while grieving.
Register within five days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; within eight days in Scotland.
Claim Bereavement Support Payment within three months
For a husband, wife or civil partner who died while you were under State Pension age, or a cohabiting partner with children. A first lump sum and then monthly payments. It does not affect other benefits for the first year, and it is not taxed.
Claim within three months of the death to get every monthly payment. You can claim up to 21 months later, but you lose a payment for every month you wait.
Then, when you have a moment
Ask about help with the funeral before you order it
The Funeral Expenses Payment covers burial or cremation fees and something towards other costs, for people on certain benefits. Apply before or within six months of the funeral. Scotland runs a Funeral Support Payment.
Check your own council tax
A property left empty after a death is exempt from council tax until probate, and for six months after it. If you now live alone, the single person discount takes 25% off.
Look at your own benefits again
Losing a partner changes almost every calculation: Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Council Tax Reduction and Housing Benefit are all worked out on a different basis for a single person.
Do not rush the money decisions
Nothing about pensions, investments or the house has to be settled this month. Bereavement is when people are most often talked into something they regret, so give yourself the time you need.
What people are not usually told
- Bereavement Support Payment is not means-tested and is ignored by other benefits for the first twelve months, so having savings does not stop you claiming it.
- You do not have to use the funeral director who collected the person. You can change, and prices vary enormously.
- Tell Us Once does not cover banks, insurers, or the landlord. Those still need a letter, but none of them is urgent.
Now check the rest of it
The full check runs through more than fifty benefits, discounts and grants against what has changed. It takes about three minutes, it stays in your browser, and nothing is sent to us or to anybody else.
Only the DWP, HMRC, your council or the NHS can decide what you get. This tells you what to ask for.