Guides & Resources

Featured Guides

Our most popular guides to help you navigate bereavement.

Who pays for a funeral if there's no money?

If there's no money to pay for a funeral, the cost gets met in a set order. The estate pays first. Where the estate can't cover it, a government Funeral Expenses Payment may help people on certain benefits, and where nobody is able or willing to make arrangements, the local council or the hospital arranges a public health funeral instead. You're never forced to pay for a funeral you didn't agree to, and you don't have to use your own savings if you'd rather not.

10 min read

Funeral Planning

What does an executor of a will do? A UK guide to the role, duties and liability

An executor is the person named in a will to deal with everything someone leaves behind. The legal term is personal representative. The job is to gather the estate, pay any debts and tax, and pass what's left to the people named in the will. An executor has no authority until the person dies, and being named is not the same as being obliged to act.

8 min read

Managing the Estate

Who to notify when someone dies: a complete UK list

This guide is a complete list of who needs to be told when someone dies in the UK, split into the government bodies you can notify in one go and the private-sector accounts you have to contact one by one. It is written for the person taking on the practical tasks and trying to make sure nothing is missed.

6 min read

First Month

Next of kin in the UK: what it means and what you're responsible for when someone dies

This guide explains what next of kin means, who counts, what you can and cannot do, and where your real responsibilities begin once someone has died.

7 min read

Managing the Estate

Death in service benefit UK: how it works and how to claim

This guide explains how death in service benefit works, who decides where the money goes, how to claim after a death, and what employers and HR teams can do to make claims faster.

7 min read

Managing the Estate

Bereavement Support Payment UK: who qualifies, how much, and how to claim

Bereavement Support Payment is a tax-free benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions for people whose spouse, civil partner, or cohabiting partner has died. It replaced three older bereavement benefits in April 2017: Widowed Parent's Allowance, Bereavement Allowance, and Bereavement Payment. The rates are unchanged for 2026/27.

5 min read

First Month

The 7 year rule for inheritance tax: how gifts before death are treated

This guide explains how the 7 year rule actually works in practice, where the common mistakes are, and what changed in the 2025 Autumn Budget.

6 min read

Managing the Estate

The residence nil rate band: how it works and what it could save you

The rules are more complicated than that headline suggests. The RNRB applies only in certain circumstances, tapers away for larger estates, and has several edge cases that catch families out. This guide explains how it works, who qualifies, and what practical steps matter when an estate involves a family home.

9 min read

Managing the Estate

What to do when someone dies in the UK: a step-by-step guide

This guide explains what to do in the first days, weeks and months after a death in the UK. It is written for the person taking on the practical tasks: a spouse, an adult child, an executor, a close friend. It assumes you are in England or Wales, with notes on the differences for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

10 min read

First Month

What happens to energy and water bills when someone dies in a property they owned?

When someone dies and leaves behind a property they owned, one of the many practical questions families face is: what happens to the gas, electricity and water bills?

5 min read

Managing the Estate

How much does a funeral cost in the UK?

The average cost of a simple attended funeral in the UK is now £3,828. That figure covers the core elements: funeral director services, a basic coffin, and the cremation or burial fee.

7 min read

Funeral Planning

Bereavement leave UK: what employees and employers need to know

This guide covers the current statutory position, what most employers offer in practice, the specific rights that exist for parents who lose a child, what to do if your employer's policy falls short, and what is changing under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

7 min read

First Month

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How to cancel a deceased person's subscriptions and digital accounts

To cancel a deceased person's subscriptions and close their digital accounts, you stop the payments at the bank, tell each provider with a copy of the death certificate and the account details, and use the platform's own legacy tools for social media and Apple or Google accounts. There's no single place to do all of it at once. Every service runs its own process, and the order you tackle them in makes the job quicker and safer.

10 min read

First Month

Do you need probate? UK bank thresholds and when a grant is required

This guide explains when probate is required in England and Wales, when it is not, and the bank thresholds that often decide the question. It is written for the person trying to work out whether they can deal with an estate directly or whether they first need to apply for a grant. If you are new to the term, our guide on what is probate covers the basics.

6 min read

First Month

How to apply for probate in the UK: a step-by-step guide

This guide covers how to apply for probate in England and Wales: what you need to have in place first, how to apply online or by post, what it costs, how long it takes, and what to do with the grant once it arrives. It is written for the person handling the estate, usually an executor named in the will or the next of kin where there is no will.

7 min read

First Month

Funeral Planning

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Who pays for a funeral if there's no money?

If there's no money to pay for a funeral, the cost gets met in a set order. The estate pays first. Where the estate can't cover it, a government Funeral Expenses Payment may help people on certain benefits, and where nobody is able or willing to make arrangements, the local council or the hospital arranges a public health funeral instead. You're never forced to pay for a funeral you didn't agree to, and you don't have to use your own savings if you'd rather not.

10 min read

Funeral Planning

How long after death is a funeral in the UK?

This guide explains what drives the timeline, what can delay a funeral, and what the realistic upper limit is if you need longer.

7 min read

Funeral Planning

How to write a eulogy

This guide focuses on what actually makes a eulogy land when delivered, and on the practical decisions that get you from blank page to finished draft. It is written for the person who has never done this before, may not speak in public often, and is grieving.

9 min read

Funeral Planning

Managing the Estate

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What to do if you find accounts after probate has been granted

If you find a bank account or other asset after probate has been granted, you almost never need a new grant to deal with it. The grant of probate already covers the whole estate, not only the assets you listed when you applied, so you can use the grant you hold to collect the newly found account. The extra work sits in two places: telling HMRC through a corrective account if the value changes the inheritance tax position, and, where the estate has already been shared out, bringing the money back in before it can be distributed properly.

10 min read

Managing the Estate

What does an executor of a will do? A UK guide to the role, duties and liability

An executor is the person named in a will to deal with everything someone leaves behind. The legal term is personal representative. The job is to gather the estate, pay any debts and tax, and pass what's left to the people named in the will. An executor has no authority until the person dies, and being named is not the same as being obliged to act.

8 min read

Managing the Estate

Capital gains tax on inherited property in the UK

You don't pay capital gains tax when you inherit a property. You may pay it if you later sell for more than the property was worth on the day the person died. That date-of-death figure, the probate value, becomes your starting point. Capital gains tax is charged only on the increase between the probate value and the sale price, after allowable costs and your tax-free allowance.

8 min read

Managing the Estate

Practical advice and helpful resources to help you navigate bereavement.

Featured Guides

Who pays for a funeral if there's no money?

What does an executor of a will do? A UK guide to the role, duties and liability

Who to notify when someone dies: a complete UK list

Next of kin in the UK: what it means and what you're responsible for when someone dies

Death in service benefit UK: how it works and how to claim

Bereavement Support Payment UK: who qualifies, how much, and how to claim

The 7 year rule for inheritance tax: how gifts before death are treated

The residence nil rate band: how it works and what it could save you

What to do when someone dies in the UK: a step-by-step guide

What happens to energy and water bills when someone dies in a property they owned?

How much does a funeral cost in the UK?

Bereavement leave UK: what employees and employers need to know

First Month

How to cancel a deceased person's subscriptions and digital accounts

Do you need probate? UK bank thresholds and when a grant is required

How to apply for probate in the UK: a step-by-step guide

Funeral Planning

Who pays for a funeral if there's no money?

How long after death is a funeral in the UK?

How to write a eulogy

Managing the Estate

What to do if you find accounts after probate has been granted

What does an executor of a will do? A UK guide to the role, duties and liability

Capital gains tax on inherited property in the UK

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