When someone dies
The letters and lists that reduce the number of calls you have to make. 5 templates, all free to fill in and print.
There is a long list of organisations to tell, and the aim of these documents is to reduce the number of times you have to explain. Write rather than telephone where you can, so you are not repeating the same conversation to whoever answers. Most banks and large companies have a dedicated bereavement team — ask for it by name. Send certified copies of documents, never originals. What may actually be done with an account before probate or its local equivalent differs by country, so ask each organisation what they need rather than assuming. Do it in batches, and do not try to finish it in a week.
There is a long list and most of it is notification. The same facts, meaning full name, date of birth, date of death, address and an account number, sent to banks, insurers, pension providers, utilities, employers, subscription services and government departments, each with its own form and its own idea of what proof it needs. Write the facts down once, on one sheet, and work from it. What is legally required, who has authority to act and in what order, is set by the law where the person died and where their assets are; a registrar, probate office or equivalent authority will tell you the steps for your jurisdiction. Many countries also have free bereavement services that will go through the list with you.
Write the facts down once
Before making any calls, put the details on one page: full legal name and any other names used, date and place of birth, date and place of death, last address, marital status, national identity or insurance number, and the death certificate or registration reference once you have it. Add your own name, relationship and contact details, since every organisation asks. Then list the accounts, policies, subscriptions and obligations you know about, with numbers where you have them. You will be asked for the same information dozens of times over several weeks by people who cannot see each other's records. Having it on one sheet turns each call into a short one, and stops small errors, a transposed number or a wrong date, being repeated across the whole list.
Notify in order of consequence
A bereavement notification letter is one short letter reused many times: who has died, when, the account or policy reference, your relationship and authority, and what you are asking the organisation to do. Send the ones with financial or legal consequences first, meaning banks and building societies, the mortgage lender or landlord, pension providers, insurers, the employer, and the relevant tax and benefits authorities, which in most countries need to be told promptly and sometimes run a single service notifying several departments at once. Ask each organisation what proof it requires and whether it accepts a certified copy, because originals get lost in the post. Then work through utilities, subscriptions and memberships. Keep a tick-list with the date you wrote, the reference given and the reply.
Accounts, passwords and possessions
Digital accounts are the part that catches people out. Email, phone, cloud storage, photographs, social media, domain names and anything paying out by direct debit are held behind credentials, and providers have their own bereavement policies, which normally require documentation rather than a password. A password and account sheet is useful as a list of what exists and where, not as a way around a provider's process, because knowing what to ask about is most of the work. Do not use someone else's credentials to access accounts, even with the family's agreement; whether that is lawful depends on where you are, and it can complicate matters later. A home inventory list of a property's contents serves the estate, any insurer, and whoever eventually has to divide things up.
Getting help, and telling people
Most countries have free bereavement guidance: a government registration service, a probate or succession office, a tax authority page for estates, and charities that provide practical checklists and someone to talk to. Use those for the procedure rather than a general template, because who may act, what has to be registered and in what timescale differs by jurisdiction, and getting it wrong costs time you do not have. If the estate is complicated, contested, or crosses borders, that is the point to take advice from a solicitor or notary. Separately, there are the people to tell. A condolence note is short by design: name the person, say one true thing about them, offer something specific rather than anything at all, and do not expect a reply.
The order to do it in
- Register the death with the authority your country requires, and ask how many certified copies you need.
- Write one sheet of facts and references, then list every account, policy and obligation you know.
- Notify banks, pensions, insurers, the employer and the tax or benefits authority first, keeping a dated log.
- Ask a free bereavement service or the probate office what the process is where you are.
- Work through utilities, subscriptions and digital accounts, using each provider's own bereavement route.
Common questions
Who do I need to notify when someone dies?
In rough order: the authority that registers deaths where you are, then banks, pension providers, insurers, the mortgage lender or landlord, the employer, and the tax and benefits departments. Several countries run a single notification service that tells multiple government departments at once, so ask whether yours does. Utilities, subscriptions and memberships come after. Keep a log with dates and reference numbers; you will be repeating this over several weeks.
How many copies of the death certificate will I need?
More than you expect. Many organisations want to see a certified copy and some keep it, so ordering several at registration is usually cheaper and faster than requesting more later. Ask each organisation whether it will accept a photocopy or return the original. The number available, the fee and who may request them are set by the registration authority where the death occurred, so ask them directly.
Can I access the person's email or online accounts?
Not by using their credentials, even with the family's agreement, because whether that is lawful varies by jurisdiction and it can complicate the estate. Each provider has a bereavement or deceased-account process, which normally requires proof of death and of your authority to act. Look it up for each service and follow it. Listing which accounts exist is useful; holding the passwords does not give you the right to use them.