What To Do When Someone Dies - A Practical Guide

What do I do when someone dies?

                             

When someone close dies there it is incredibly difficult to know what to do first. Grieving is a crucial part of the process, but the there are often practical considerations that need to be thought about. Our simple list helps you work out what to do after someone dies.

The following documents and details will be needed during at some point and so finding these out as soon as possible will make things far easier:

•    Details of next of kin
•    The deceased's birth certificate
•    The deceased's National Insurance & NHS Number
•    The deceased's Passport & Driving License
•    The deceased's Tax Reference Number
•    Detail of any religious beliefs held (for funeral plans)
•    The deceased's Will (if one was made)
•    Details of the deceased's pension (if they had one)

There are a number of legal requirements following a death in the UK that need to be fulfilled.

Immediate Steps Following A Death

• Medical Certificate - You will need to get a medical certificate (usually from the doctor or GP at the hospital) in order to register the death.

• Register the death - Within 5 days of the death, you must register a death with the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths for the district where the death occurred. Once the death has been registered you will get all of the documents you need for the funeral. 

If the death is referred to a coroner the 5 day timescale will be extended.

A really helpful link for answering questions you may have about registering a death can be found here https://www.gov.uk/register-a-death

       Next Steps After A Death

One of the important things after a death is to not take on too much yourself. Don't be afraid to ask friend and family for help. You will need time to grieve, and between living your own life and organising a funeral, there won't be much spare time.

Organising the Funeral

One of the first things to check is if the deceased had a funeral plan set up (this will often be specified in the will). If they do, great, this should make things much easier. If not, you will need to think about the style of funeral, the budget, and the location. Be sure to shop around, and speak to different funeral directors, as the first one may not be able to deliver the funeral you want, and there may be cheaper alternatives. There is also the option to reduce costs by providing things yourself, rather than through the funeral director. You are able to provide your own flowers, transportation, and the coffin which can help reduce costs.

Organisations To Contact

•     HMRC - For tax and benefit purposes
•     DVLA - To cancel driving license
•     Passport Office - To cancel passport
•     Banks - For mortgage, pension, and insurance details
•     Utility companies - Gas, water, electricity, newspaper deliveries, milkmen

•     'Tell Us Once' - This is an incredibly useful service used by the majority of local councils. This means you fill out one form, and it reports the death to most government organisation (including HMRC, DWP, DVLA, Passport Office & the local council). The link to see if your local council participates is https://www.gov.uk/tell-us-once

Alex Wilcox is Founder of Caring Coffins

www.caringcoffins.com

Practical Ways To Reduce Funeral Costs

How can I plan a cheaper funeral?

A funeral is an incredibly tough, emotional event to arrange, and costs can quickly escalate and get out of hand.  We have heard from many people who have borrowed money to cover the costs, money they could not afford. However, there are a few simple tricks than can dramatically reduce UK funeral costs.

The main thing to remember is that trying to reduce costs IN NO way means you care less about the deceased. ‘If you don’t spend a lot, this is a slight to the person’s memory’ is a message some areas of the funeral trade actively push in order to encourage people to spend more. This is an incredibly immoral practice and is so far from the truth. I’m positive if I was organising a funeral for someone close that has recently passed away, they would much rather I spent what I could afford and saved money where possible. It's important to decide on a budget and stick to it!

So how can the UK public look to reduce the costs involved in a funeral? Here are a few practical ways:

Shop Around

How many of us would buy the first car we saw? Or book the first holiday, without shopping around, or reading reviews? But that’s precisely what so many people do when organising a funeral.

We appreciate when someone close has passed away, most people won’t be thinking logically, and will want someone who will organise everything with as little input from them as possible.

However it is worth ringing a handful of funeral directors, and asking for basic costs of the elements for the funeral you want. Personal experience is also incredibly important as a bad funeral director can make an already difficult experience far worse. Spending an hour or two doing these simple things can make the whole process so much more comfortable, and can save literally thousands of pounds.

Arrange what can you yourself

From the cars, to the flowers, to the book of memorial, these are all things the funeral director can supply you with, but they will be adding a mark up to the price. So why not arrange and supply these yourself. You’d be surprised how much can be saved by asking the florist to provide flowers rather than the funeral home. Or even better, buy the flowers and do the arrangements yourself. Again, there is a pressure for overly-complicated expensive decorations that are used for a few hours. A simple, timeless design can be just a beautiful, and can significantly reduce costs.

Go green

Eco-friendly funerals are becoming more and more popular nowadays as we become more aware of the environment.  The majority of funeral directors will have a green funeral option, and these are often significantly cheaper than a traditional service. People are always surprised at how pleasant and sympathetic eco-friendly funerals are, and they are the most sustainable option.

Plan the funeral during the week

Yes, we know a weekend funeral is more convenient, but choosing a weekday can prove significantly cheaper. Anything you are hiring for the funeral, such as a location for a wake, or the cars will be cheaper if you avoid the weekend.

Source the coffin or casket yourself

This is one of the easiest ways to save money when planning a funeral. Legally you can provide the coffin for a funeral yourself; you do not need to buy it from the funeral home. This can literally save thousands of pounds, such is the mark-up applied by funeral directors. There are a number of suppliers that will ship a coffin direct to your home or to the funeral directors. Caring Coffins sell coffins from just £350 which includes next day delivery. The average cost for a UK coffin is well in excess of £1,000, and so the savings can be significant.

Coffins are one of the main costs of the funeral. Be careful to avoid some of the lower-quality ones for sale, by using a trusted company, and your funeral costs can be dramatically reduced.

Alex Wilcox is Founder of Caring Coffins

www.caringcoffins.com

The Creation of Caring Coffins

Caring Coffins is now open!

Our aim was to create a company that could help the UK public reduce their funeral costs.

With so many areas of a funeral, all costing significant amounts, we decided to concentrate on one specific, yet vital area of the funeral process, the coffin.

The idea for Caring Coffins came about when one of our founders had to organise a funeral, and quickly found the costs mounting up. 

The coffins the funeral director offered were all professionally made, practical, and tasteful. Crucially however, they started at £1,200. 

We are pleased to be able to offer coffins, that the public can buy direct from just £350 including shipping. 

And the delivery element is crucial when organising a funeral. It would be pointless to offer affordable coffins, if they cannot be delivered until a week after order. 

That is why we work with a trusted delivery partner, and all our products are shipped on a guaranteed 24 hour agreement. So a coffin ordered Monday morning, will be in transit by the afternoon. 

We will try and expand our range, and are continually trying to lower our prices as far as possible. 

And we will be updating our blog with tips to help reduce the costs of organising a funeral. 

Caring Shouldn't Be Costly