Guides and articles

Longer answers to the questions people ask us most often. Nothing here is behind a sign-up, and none of it replaces the step-by-step guide — it just explains the parts that confuse almost everybody.

A stack of certified death certificates on a wooden table next to a pen, glasses and opened bank letters

Registering · 6 min read

How many death certificates do I need? A simple way to work it out

Why every bank, pension and insurer wants its own certified copy, how many to order, and the free services that can save you from ordering more.

Handwritten checklist notebook, pen and a cup of tea on a kitchen table by a window

First steps · 8 min read

What to do when someone dies: the UK checklist, in order

A calm, ordered checklist for England and Wales — what happens in the first hours, the first five days, the first month, and what can safely wait.

Specialist cleaning technician in protective coverall and respirator in a cleared British house hallway

Property · 7 min read

Unattended death cleaning and biohazard clearance, explained honestly

What specialist decontamination actually involves after an unattended death, what families should never attempt themselves, and how to check a company is legitimate.

Living room of a modest British terraced house with contents being sorted into boxes

Probate · 6 min read

Valuing an estate for probate without overcomplicating it

How to estimate what someone owned and owed, what HMRC expects, and where executors most often go wrong.

Hands holding a mug beside a calculator and notepad on a kitchen table

Money · 5 min read

Bereavement Support Payment and help with funeral costs

What the state actually pays after a death, the current rates, and the three-month deadline that costs families money.

Empty document wallet and a set of house keys on a table in soft daylight

Probate · 6 min read

Dying without a will: who inherits under the intestacy rules

The fixed order of inheritance in England and Wales, the £322,000 statutory legacy, and why unmarried partners are not included.

Quiet corridor of a plain British civic building with an empty wooden bench

Coroner · 6 min read

When the coroner is involved: what happens and how long it takes

Why deaths are reported to a coroner, what a post-mortem and inquest mean in practice, and how to register the death in the meantime.

Plain wooden coffin and a vase of white flowers in a quiet British funeral home room

Funeral · 6 min read

Funeral costs in the UK: what you actually pay for

Current average costs, the difference between a direct cremation and an attended funeral, and the questions that reduce the bill.

Stack of letters and statements beside a notebook and pen on a table

Registering · 5 min read

Who to notify when someone dies, and in what order

Tell Us Once covers government. This is the list it does not cover, and a sensible order to work through it.

Official documents and an envelope on a kitchen table beside a cup of tea

Probate · 6 min read

How long does probate take in the UK?

Realistic timescales for each stage, the current application fee, and the things that most often cause delay.

Form, pen and a folded certificate on a pale wooden desk in a register office

Registering · 5 min read

Registering a death in England and Wales: the 5-day rule

What the medical examiner does first, what to take to the appointment, how many certificates to order, and what the green form is for.

Registering · 4 min read

Tell Us Once, explained

One phone call or online form that notifies most government departments at the same time.

Property · 7 min read

Clearing a house after a death, without regret

How to value contents, what to keep, and how to instruct a clearance company properly.

Probate · 6 min read

Do I actually need probate?

Probate is not always required. Here is the plain-English test, and what to do if you are unsure.

First steps · 5 min read

What to do in the first 48 hours after someone dies

The short list of things that genuinely cannot wait, and the much longer list that can.

General information, not legal advice. England and Wales.