Who to Notify Immediately When Someone Dies
Some notifications should happen as soon as possible, particularly those involved in legal and administrative responsibilities. These include:
Family Members and Close Friends
When someone dies, we recommend you inform family members such as parents, siblings, children, and other close relatives, as well as close friends who may be affected by the person’s death. You may also wish to notify their workplace, so colleagues are informed.
GP and Relevant Healthcare Professionals
If the death occurred at home, the individual’s GP should be contacted to confirm and certify the death. If the person died in hospital or while in care, the staff will arrange this for you. Once the GP confirms the death, they should inform the Medical Examiner, who will review and confirm the cause of death.
The Local Council Registrar
Upon receiving relevant documents from the Medical Examiner, the Registrar will contact you to book an appointment once they have received the Medical Certificate from the Medical Examiner.
If you’ve not heard from the Medical Examiner within 5 working days, there are different people you should contact depending on the circumstances:
- If the death happened at home or in the community, you should contact the GP surgery of the person who has died.
- If the death happened in hospital, you should contact the bereavement office of the hospital they were in.
- If the death happened at a hospice, you should contact the hospice and ask if the Medical Examiner has been informed of the death.
Government Organisations to Notify When Someone Dies
When it comes to knowing who to contact regarding the death of a person, it can feel like an immense task. Fortunately, the government provides a ‘Tell Us Once’ service for those located in England, Wales, and Scotland which notifies all of the essential governmental organisations on your behalf.
The Tell Us Once service will notify:
- The Local Council to cancel services like council tax, housing benefits, and will remove the person who has passed away from the electoral register.
- HMRC to cancel any tax benefits and (if needed) will assist in making arrangements to deal with any estates left behind.
- The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel any benefits like Universal Credit and State Pension payments.
- The Passport Office to return and cancel the individual’s passport.
- The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to return and cancel an individual’s driving license and car tax.
The Registrar will also tell you about this service and either help you complete the form or give you a reference number to complete the service in your own time.
While not mandatory, having the death certificate available can speed up the process should you decide to contact these departments directly instead of using the Tell Us Once service.
Financial Institutions to Notify When Someone Dies
After notifying friends, family, and the relevant government departments, it’s helpful to gather any paperwork related to the deceased’s financial accounts.
You may not know everything, and that’s okay, but notifying financial institutions as soon as possible is beneficial to ensure accounts are frozen and mitigate the risk of fraud.
Depending on circumstances, the following may need to be informed of the person’s death:
- The person’s bank(s) or building society and credit card companies
- Mortgage or Loan providers
- Pension and life insurance providers
- Utility companies (gas, electric, water, broadband, tv licence)
- If they were renting, the landlord or housing association
- A solicitor or accountant in charge of their financial affairs
There may be other financial institutions you need to contact, so going through the person’s paperwork will help you understand who to contact.
Alternatively, you can opt to use the Death Notification Service who can reach out to a number of financial institutions on your behalf. Just be sure to check their list of members to see who they don’t contact as you may need to contact those companies directly.
Other Organisations to Notify When Someone Dies
The last people to notify when someone dies can include any subscription-based services they were known to have. You can usually spot these on paperwork like bank statements or summary letters received from the companies themselves. Other organisations include:
- Schools, clubs societies
- Religious or spiritual groups they belonged to
- Subscriptions like magazines and streaming services
- Health professionals like their optician, dentist, and other healthcare providers who weren’t immediately notified
- Funeral Directors, such as ourselves, who can help you make preparations for the funeral
We’re Here to Support You
We understand how overwhelming these steps can feel, especially while grieving. At Kenna and Turner, we can offer gentle support and practical advice tailored to your situation.
If you have any questions or simply need someone to talk to, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team.
