What to do after death

After you have registered the death with the local Registrar you will be asked if you need a 'death certificate'. The death certificate is a certified copy of what is written in the death register. You will have to pay for a death certificate and it is likely that you will need more than one so its worth asking for them all initially as the cost is higher if you need more afterwards the registrar may need time to prepare them and may ask you to pay the postage and forward them on to you. 

You will need a certificate for the will and for pension claims, life insurance policies, bank accounts,investments or other financial complanies that you may need to inform of the death or make a claim from.

The Estate

An individual's 'estate' is their belongings or chattles, money and property they owned when they died. This may not include jointly owned property or joint bank accounts or jointly held investments. 

The Will

A will can be any document that specifies what should happen to an individuals estate when they die. It has to be drwan up in line with strict rules in order to be valid, so you may need to obtain legal advice to clarify the situation.