What do I do when somebody dies?

Who do I notify first?

In the first five days it is important that you do the following:

• Notify the deceased’s family doctor.
• Contact a funeral director to commence funeral arrangements (you will need to check any Will for any special requests or pre-paid funeral arrangements which may have already been made.)
• Register the death at the Registry Office.
• Advise any departments who may have been making payments to the deceased, such as tax credits, benefits, pensions etc.
• You will also need to contact relatives and people close to the deceased.

As soon as possible you should:

Contact the executors of any Will to enable them to start the process of obtaining Probate.

If there is no Will, then you should decide who will apply to sort out the deceased’s affairs and apply for Letters of Administration.

Who can deal with the deceased’s person’s estate?

Usually a close relative like a spouse, child or a parent will have the legal right to sort out the estate of the person who has died.  In order to be able to administer someone’s estate you normally need to apply to the Probate Registry for a ‘Grant of Letters of Administration.’

If the person who has died leaves a Will

In this case, one or more executors may be named in the Will to deal with the person’s affairs after their death.  The executor applies for a ‘grant of probate’ from a section of the court known as the Probate Registry.  The grant is a legal document which confirms that the executor has the authority to deal with the deceased person’s assets (property, money and possessions.)  They can use it to show they have the right to access funds, sort out finances, and collect and share out the deceased person’s assets as set out in the Will.

What if the person who has died hasn’t left a Will (Intestacy):

 

click here for more >>