When you register your uncle’s death the register office will offer to contact various official bodies for you to tell them about his death. These are:
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for tax and benefits such as child benefit and tax credit.
- The Department for Work and Pensions for other benefits such as income support or state pensions.
- The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to cancel his driving licence.
- HM Passport Office to cancel his passport.
- The local council to deal with various local services.
It can be an upsetting job, but your uncle’s executors (the people he named in his will to look after his affairs after his death) or administrators (the relatives who are entitled to look after his affairs if he did not make a will) will also need to go through his papers, bank statements and so on to make a list of other organisations to contact. These could include:
- His landlord or his mortgage company.
- His employer, for life insurance and death-in-service benefits under workplace pension schemes.
- His personal pension provider.
- His bank or building society and any other savings and investment providers such as National Savings & Investments (for Premium Bonds).
- His utility companies.
- His home and car insurance companies (car policies usually lapse on death so any named driver on his policy is probably now uninsured).
- Any clubs, associations or trade unions he belonged to.
- The library (for any books etc).
- His doctor and dentist.
- His hospital or the NHS (to return any equipment such as hearing aids or wheelchairs he may have used).
- The Bereavement Register to remove his name from mailing lists.
- If he was a student, his school or college and the Student Loans Company (if he had a student loan).
- Any companies he held shares in (or the registrars looking after their share registers).
- The Post Office (if you want to redirect his post).
Each will tell you whether they need a death certificate. Some, such as HMRC, will need his national insurance number. Some will record the death immediately, but others will send you a form to complete and return.
If he had made a Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney and you were the attorney, send the original document and a death certificate to the Office of the Public Guardian so they can amend their records.