Life Event · Bereavement
Bereavement in the UK
Losing someone is hard. The financial and legal steps that follow — registration, Tell Us Once, probate, Inheritance Tax, pensions — have rules and deadlines worth understanding early.
First 5 Days — Registration & Tell Us Once
- Register the death within 5 days (8 in Scotland) at the local register office. You'll need the medical certificate of cause of death.
- Tell Us Once (gov.uk service) — one report notifies HMRC, DWP, DVLA, Passport Office, local council, NHS, pension service. Use the reference given by the registrar.
- Get extra death certificate copies (~£11 each) — banks, insurers, probate registry will each want one.
- Contact funeral director. Funeral can be paid from the deceased's bank account before probate if the bank agrees.
Probate (Grant of Representation)
Probate is the legal authority to administer the estate. Required if estate > £5,000-£50,000 (bank threshold varies) or includes property.
- With a will: «Grant of Probate» to named executors
- Without a will: «Letters of Administration» — closest relatives apply, intestacy rules apply
- Application fee: £300 (estates over £5,000), extra copies £1.50 each
- Timeline: 8-16 weeks typical; complex estates 6-12 months
- Scotland: «Confirmation» via Sheriff Court instead of Probate
Probate Process Timeline in Detail
For a simple estate (sole bank account, no property, no IHT) probate can complete in 8-12 weeks. The pattern is: register the death (week 1), apply for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration with HM Courts and Tribunals Service (weeks 2-4), receive the Grant (weeks 6-12), collect assets and settle debts (weeks 12-20), then distribute and prepare the executor's estate accounts. The £300 application fee applies to estates above £5,000.
Where IHT is due, the timetable doubles. You must submit IHT400 and pay any tax (or arrange the instalment option for property) BEFORE the Grant is issued. HMRC takes 12-16 weeks to acknowledge IHT400, then a further 4-6 weeks to issue clearance (IHT421). Total: 6-12 months realistic for taxable estates, sometimes longer where foreign property, agricultural relief or business property relief is claimed. Executors are personally liable for any IHT underpayment discovered later, so most use a solicitor or chartered tax adviser for estates above the Nil-Rate Band.
Inheritance Tax (IHT) 2025/26
- Nil-Rate Band: £325,000 per person — no IHT below this
- Residence Nil-Rate Band: +£175,000 if home passes to direct descendants (children/grandchildren)
- Spouse exemption: 100% — unlimited transfers between spouses/civil partners tax-free
- Transferable allowances: Surviving spouse can use deceased's unused NRB + RNRB → up to £1,000,000 combined
- Rate: 40% above thresholds (36% if 10%+ of estate to charity)
- Pay within 6 months of end of month of death, or interest charged. Form IHT400 (full) or IHT205 (excepted estates).
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP)
If you lost a spouse/civil partner aged under State Pension age:
- Higher rate (with children): £3,500 lump sum + £350/month for 18 months = £9,800 total
- Standard rate (no children): £2,500 lump sum + £100/month for 18 months = £4,300 total
- Claim within 3 months for full backdating. Tax-free, not means-tested.
- Cohabiting partners (not married/civil partnered) — eligible from 2023 if children, retrospective claims possible
The older Widowed Parent's Allowance and Bereavement Allowance were abolished for deaths from 6 April 2017 onwards, replaced by the simpler BSP. BSP is paid for a fixed 18 months only — unlike the old WPA, which paid until the youngest child finished full-time education. Many bereaved families do not realise that benefit support ends after 18 months and must plan around that, particularly single parents with young children where Universal Credit becomes the longer-term safety net.
Pensions on Death — Pre- and Post-April 2027
- Defined Contribution (SIPP/workplace): Currently passes outside the estate, free of IHT. If deceased died before age 75, beneficiaries receive it tax-free. If 75+, withdrawals taxed at beneficiary's marginal rate.
- Defined Benefit: Usually 50% spouse's pension + dependant's pension for children
- State Pension: Some inherited basic State Pension for pre-2016 retirees; new State Pension generally not inheritable
- Notify pension providers ASAP — they need death certificate & beneficiary nomination on file
From 6 April 2027 the rules change materially: most unused DC pension pots will fall INSIDE the estate for IHT purposes. The 40% IHT charge will apply to pension wealth above the available Nil-Rate Band, and where the member dies aged 75 or over, beneficiaries will still pay income tax at their marginal rate on withdrawals — creating effective combined rates of 52-67% in the worst cases. Families with large pension pots and adult children inheriting are reviewing whether to crystallise some pension wealth earlier, gift outside the estate (7-year rule), or buy whole-of-life insurance written in trust to cover the future IHT liability.
Funeral Costs and Funeral Planning
The average UK attended funeral costs £4,000-£5,000 (SunLife 2024 data), with London and the South East at the top of the range. A simple direct cremation — no service, no mourners present, ashes returned by post — costs £1,500-£2,200 through providers like Pure Cremation, Aura or Distinct Cremations and is the fastest-growing segment of the market. Burial is materially more expensive than cremation, typically £1,000-£3,000 more once plot, headstone and grave preparation are added.
Pre-paid funeral plans (now FCA-regulated since July 2022) can lock in current prices, but the FCA collapse of Safe Hands Funeral Plans in 2022 left thousands without cover. Stick to providers who are members of the Funeral Planning Authority and FCA-authorised. Alternatives include over-50s whole-of-life insurance, simply ring-fencing £5,000 in an easy-access savings account, or using the DWP Funeral Expenses Payment (up to £1,000 of essential costs) if the person arranging the funeral receives qualifying benefits.
Executor Tax Duties During Estate Administration
Once probate is granted, the executor becomes responsible for the estate's tax during the administration period. Two distinct returns may be required: the deceased's personal Self Assessment for the year of death (covering income up to date of death), and the estate's SA900 trust and estate return covering interest, dividends and rental income during administration.
If the estate generates more than £100 of income during admin (very easy to trigger with rental property or larger savings balances), the SA900 must be filed. Estates pay basic rate only: 20% on interest, 8.75% on dividends, 20% on rental income — no Personal Allowance, no ISA shelter, no savings allowance. Beneficiaries receive net amounts plus an R185 (Estate Income) certificate which they can use to reclaim tax if they are below the basic-rate threshold. Most executors register an estate informally with HMRC by completing form SA900 and waiting for a UTR; complex estates use a tax adviser.
ISAs After Death — APS
Spouse gets an «Additional Permitted Subscription» — an extra ISA allowance equal to deceased spouse's ISA value at death (or value when transferred). Apply within 3 years to surviving spouse's ISA provider. ISA itself loses tax-free status from date of death but value transfers tax-efficiently.
Income Tax for the Deceased
Final tax return required for year of death (R27 form / Personal Representative login). Personal Allowance still applies pro-rata. Any tax overpaid may be refundable to estate. Estate income (interest, rental during admin period) taxed at basic rate during admin.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Missing the 6-month IHT deadline. Interest starts accruing from the end of the 6th month after death — even if the Grant of Probate has not yet been issued. Estimate and pay on account if necessary.
- Distributing too early. Executors are personally liable for unknown debts and unexpected IHT. Wait for HMRC clearance (IHT421) and place a deceased estate notice in The Gazette before distributing.
- Forgetting the SA900 estate return. Any estate generating more than £100 of income during administration needs an estate Self Assessment. HMRC catches this through bank/dividend data matching.
- Not claiming transferable NRB. Surviving spouse can inherit unused NRB and RNRB — combined allowance up to £1,000,000. Form IHT402 must be filed within 2 years of the second death.
- Buying a pre-paid funeral plan from an unregulated provider. Stick to FCA-authorised providers (post-July 2022 regulation) and Funeral Planning Authority members.