Updates
Amendments to the 2nd Edition Text, since 12 March 2024
Preface (page 3)
Add a new fourth paragraph
And, on the subject of relationships, I have refined my view from recent lectures I have been asked to give on the issues raised in the book, along with the ensuing Q&A. I firmly believe that relationships really are the No 1 Priority – even ahead of Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, funeral arrangements and so on, each as discussed later in the book. Developing what I write at the end of the previous paragraph, getting relationships with those who are close to us as good as they possibly can be – and that means right now, not just leaving it ‘to the end’ – really must be our focus. Once those are sorted, with any necessary reconciliation achieved, then I firmly believe that everything else in terms of Getting our Affairs in Order can simply flow, always assuming that we will put our minds to it.
Add a new final paragraph before the quotation:
Readers will forgive me, as a Church of England clergyman, for noting the following from the Order for the Visitation of Sick in the Book of Common Prayer of 1662: “And if he have not before disposed of his goods, let him then be admonished to make his Will, and to declare his debts, what he oweth and what is owing unto him; for the better discharging of his conscience, and the quietness of his executors. But men should often be put in remembrance to take order for the settling of their temporal estates whilst they are in health.”
There’s nothing new under the sun …
Preface (page 3)
Add at the foot of the page after the quotation:
20 Questions
Developing what I have written above, you may like to consider how you would respond to the following. If you can answer Yes to all or at least a clear majority to these questions, you are doing pretty well! In any case, however, reading this book – and actioning those of my suggestions which are relevant to you – should serve to put you and your family in a good place.
1. Are your relationships with those close to you as good as they can be, with no need for any reconciliation or forgiveness, whether offered or received?
2. Have you done what you can under the laws of your home country to protect yourself and your property in case of your mental incapacity, eg by appointing an attorney?
3. Have you put in writing your wishes on any medical treatment and care in case of a terminal illness, eg ‘do not resuscitate’?
4. Have you taken steps to provide for any dependants (minor children), elderly relatives or pets in the event of your death?
5. Subject to the laws of your home country, have you written down your wishes on the possible use of your organs after your death?
6. Have you provided all the information and documents necessary to obtain a death certificate?
7. Do you have a valid and up-to-date Will?
8. Have you set out your preferred arrangements for your funeral?
9. Is there an available record of the passwords to your digital assets?
10. If you are one of a couple and are the first to go, have you together ensured that the survivor can manage financially?
11. If you have responsibilities in a business (whether as a sole trader, partner or director of a company) or in a charity or club, have you explained clearly in
writing what you do? And have you told others and made any necessary succession arrangements?
12. Have you set out a clear record with contact details of those to notify of your death (whether family, friends, advisers or colleagues), by what means and in what order?
13. Have you left and updated a list of what you own and how that property/those assets are to be accessed, including insurance arrangements immediately after your death?
14. Have you taken account of foreign tax or procedural implications for any assets you may own outside your home country – or indeed for beneficiaries resident in another country?
15. Have you left clear instructions to those close to you on how they should sort your personal possessions and things about your home once you are no longer about?
16. Have you had conversations, with a record and any guidance in writing, with people such as attorneys, guardians, executors and business/charity/club
associates?
17. Capital taxes on death: have you taken action to mitigate their effect, estimate the amount and provide for payment?
18. Are you taking active steps to spend time with those who are close to you?
19. Have you written letters (to be delivered after your death) and perhaps made gifts to those people of possessions that they will value?
20. Whether or not you are actively religious, have you given thought to what you think about God and life beyond the here and now?
Lasting Powers of Attorney (page 12)
After paragraph 6, add:
Applications are known to be rejected where there are errors, including spelling mistakes, incorrect information or even where there are spelling mistakes. A process which should take no longer than ten weeks may turn into years. Careful attention is therefore required in drawing up each LPA, especially if you are doing it yourself.
While activation of the Health and Welfare LPA can occur only following your loss of mental capacity, your attorney(s) under your Property and Financial Affairs LPA can act even while you have mental capacity, so long as you instruct them to do so. In fact, this is strongly recommended. It means going for Option 1 on the form (that is, as soon as the LPA is registered, with your permission the attorneys can act). The final paragraph on page 12 should be qualified accordingly.
Careful attention is therefore required in drawing up each LPA, especially if you are doing it yourself.
On registration, the OPG will write to both the donor and the attorneys with an LPA reference number and an activation key. This information will enable the attorney(s) to activate the LPA online on the Government’s website.
Final paragraph lines 3 and 4:
Replace the words ‘per person per LPA’ with ‘for each part of the LPA’ and add a new third sentence ‘As at 17 November 2025, the fee of £82 is increased to £92.’
Lasting Powers of Attorney (page 13)
First new paragraph: add new last sentence
I strongly recommend that on both LPAs attorneys are appointed to act jointly and severally, if not merely severally. If jointly (only), the death or incapacity of any attorney may mean that (depending on the specific circumstances and indeed on the terms of the LPA) the LPA(s) cannot be applied without some further action.
Health and Welfare (page 14)
Paragraph 4, lines 1 and 2
Please delete the words ‘even after you may have lost mental capacity’.
add a new final sentence
Alternatively, if your advance decision does predate your Health and Welfare LPA, the Health and Welfare LPA should confirm the continuing validity of the advance decision and not conflict with it.
The ReSPECT Form (page 16)
Paragraph 1, replace the first sentence with the following:
Whether instead of or alongside an advance decision, you could consider completing the ReSPECT Form (Version 3) introduced in 2020 by the Resuscitation Council UK, which is not legally binding (though see the next paragraph).
Add a new second paragraph as follows:
While the ReSPECT Form is not legally binding, doctors, nurses or paramedics would have to have very good reasons for not following your wishes. It may be that you choose to write a ReSPECT Form as the end approaches, perhaps building on what you have already written in an advance decision/Living Will.
Burial or Cremation? (page 21)
Replace the first two sentences:
Your family will appreciate having details of your preferred funeral directors. I suggest indeed that you might appoint them beforehand, meeting them to discuss the main details, so starting to establish
a relationship.
Replace the second sentence with the following:
Indeed, I strongly recommend that you establish a relationship with your preferred funeral directors while living. It is curious that there is no requirement for regulation of funeral directors and you should ensure that those you choose belong to either the National Association of Funeral Directors or the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.
Then add a new final paragraph on page 21:
While the family will value a letter of wishes as suggested, it may be important to give them a discretion or power of choice to vary what you have set down, so that they can achieve what is right on the day in all the circumstances – which it may not have been possible for you to envisage in advance. In particular, the family need to be able to decide what is the right shape of the day for them, on which there are a variety of options, as discussed over the page.
Burial or Cremation? (page 22)
Add a new penultimate paragraph:
One (almost essential) thing to remember with both a funeral and a memorial service is, wherever possible, arranging live streaming for the benefit of those who are unable to make it.
Add the following sentence at the end of the penultimate paragraph:
Do make sure that the provider of the plan is regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to secure your money when the time comes.
Preparing for the End (page 23)
Replace the second sentence with:
There is a perhaps surprising statistic that approximately 25% of all deaths in England and Wales (at least, within the UK) are unexpected or sudden, whether caused by accident, violent assault and so on.
Preparing for the end (page 25)
Please add the following second paragraph
Each of us will no doubt have deeply held views on the subject of assisted dying, both in the light of current legislation going through the UK Parliament and the experience of countries elsewhere: for example, some States in the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a number of European Countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland (with Dignitas). All I shall say here is that it is a subject which it might be worth discussing with your family, so that they are clear on your own views.
The Intestacy Rules (page 29)
While the definition of ‘children’ includes legally adopted children, it does not extend to step-children.
For brothers and sisters to inherit, they must share both parents with the deceased: ‘half-blood’ siblings do not qualify.
Making and updating your Will – and any letters of wishes (page 31)
Care needs to be taken in the event of a second marriage/civil partnership, in circumstances where, in particular, there are children/grandchildren surviving from the first. As noted in the previous paragraph, new Wills should standardly be made and a parent/grandparent should take thought as to how any provision for their children/grandchildren from the first union should be protected, especially in the event of their death and a third or subsequent marriage by the surviving spouse/civil partner. Subject to Inheritance Tax considerations, a Trust for the benefit of those children/grandchildren might well be best solution. One idea might be to give a right to income (but not capital) to the surviving spouse/civil partner, followed by a gift to the surviving children/grandchildren on that survivor’s death.
Foreign Property (page 38)
Please add a new section below the paragraph on Foreign Property as follows:
Domicile and Residence
The assumption in this book is generally that the reader is both domiciled and resident within the UK, comprising England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Domicile is broadly the country which you regard as ‘home’ (whether England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. And one is resident in a particular country by spending a minimum number of days in the tax year (6 April to 5 April), more than 183 days or over half the year. Traditionally there is also the concept of ‘ordinary residence’, viz spending at least 90 days in four consecutive years. Traditionally, someone resident and domiciled within the UK is subject to Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax on income, gains and assets (on a chargeable event) wherever those arise or are situated.
I mention this simply because major changes were made with effect from 6 April 2025, broadly to abandon domicile as a test for UK tax purposes and to replace it with a test of long-term residence for typically ten consecutive years of residence, subject to particular qualifications. No further detail is required in this context, but just so readers are aware in general terms.
Your Business (page 52)
Replace the final paragraph with the following:
The other point to bear in mind in terms of Inheritance Tax is (at least before 6 April 2026) the likely availability of up to 100% relief from tax in the case of a trading (but not an investment) business: see page 68 for the distinction. This has of course been radically impacted by Rachel Reeves’ Budget Statement on 30 October 2024 and the Finance Bill clauses published subsequently. And so anyone affected is strongly advised to take professional advice, if not already. And then in terms of any responsibilities you may have in a club, association or charity, do ensure that in the event of your demise, your colleagues are well aware of what you do and where any papers or information are stored, so as to be able to ensure as seamless a succession as possible.
Pensions (pages 55 and 56)
The text is slightly amended as follows:
The first thing to say is that the pensions regime is horribly complex and that this is a VERY bare summary on which you should not rely: professional advice is essential. Note the warning on page 8.
On your death you may have a prospective entitlement either under a defined benefit pension (for example, a final salary pension), to which you and your employer have been contributing, or under a money purchase pension (for example, a personal pension, such as a Self-Invested Personal Pension or SIPP). In either case you should consider what will happen on your death.
With a defined benefit pension which you haven’t yet started to access, what happens in terms of procedure and so tax implications rather depends on the pension provider’s own rules, which you should try to find out, in particular, because they may override your wishes. The pension provided will certainly want to have a copy of your up-to-date Will. And you should also let them have a specific nomination of your chosen recipient(s) of any amounts payable after your death.
With a money purchase pension, you should nominate your chosen recipient(s) to the pension provider, though this will not be binding. The value on death irrespective of age will normally pass free of Inheritance Tax (subject to one rare exception). There is a big difference between dying under the age of 75 and having attained at least age 75. If you die aged under 75, the recipients (as designated by the pension provider) can draw the fund value at any time, free from any Income Tax (or Capital Gains Tax) also. However, note that the freedom from Income Tax depends upon (a) payment made within two years after the scheme administrator first knew (or could reasonably have been expected to know) of your death; and (b) upon the fund value being less than the lifetime allowance (or higher protected amount) – see page 56. If you die aged at least 75, while there will still be no Inheritance Tax liability (subject to that rare one exception), the withdrawal of funds from the scheme will attract Income Tax in the recipient’s hands at their marginal rate.
Interestingly, if you have no dependants, the trustees can pay a lump sum death benefit out of pension funds whether uncrystallised or in drawdown to a charity nominated by you without using up or being limited by your lifetime allowance (see below). While it may be sensible in financial terms for the value to go to a surviving spouse/civil partner, this rather ‘wastes’ the Inheritance Tax exemption (unless the whole remaining fund will have been spent by the second death). It all depends on your respective ages and states of health, on your overall financial circumstances and on the value of the pension fund within that. If you want your surviving spouse/ civil partner to have access to the pension fund after your death, there may be a case for transferring the value to an outside settlement already established for the purpose, where under current rules the Inheritance Tax liability would be limited to 6% at most every ten years – and the rate may be much less than that.
Alternatively, you might have started drawing on your pension by the time you die, whether defined benefit or money purchase. If defined benefit, again the position will depend on the pension provider’s specific rules. Under a money purchase arrangement, the income will be being paid to you either as an annuity or by drawdown. If by drawdown, the pension fund remaining on death can be transferred to any nominated beneficiary, whether spouse/civil partner or children. For purposes of the lifetime allowance any inherited pension can be held alongside their own, without eating into it. As above, if you die before age 75, there will generally be no Inheritance Tax liability, though there could be Income Tax to pay if the amount exceeds your own lifetime allowance (unless already tested by a pre-6 April 2024 crystallisation). If after age 75, there is no lifetime allowance and any withdrawals from the inherited pension fund will attract Income Tax for the recipient. The standard lifetime allowance was £1,073,100 in 2022/23 and 2023/24 (although some savers have locked into higher amounts).
Very significant changes to the pensions regime were made by Finance (No2) Act 2023, including abolition of the lifetime allowance (though it does continue for some purposes). Further substantial changes will take effect from 6 April 2024: see the Updates tab on the website for developments here.
Pensions: changes from 6 April 2024 under Finance Act 2024
The very substantial changes made (on which HMRC have issued some guidance) are beyond the scope of this book. Again, I emphasise the importance of getting proper professional advice. The only point to mention in the present context is that the amount which may be liable to Income Tax on beneficiaries following the pension-holder’s death under 75 will depend on whether the fund went into drawdown before 6 April or after 5 April 2024. If before 6 April, there will generally not be an Income Tax charge (since the allowance will have already been tested on crystallisation). If after 5 April, the amount of a lump sum paid out which exceeds the deceased member’s available allowance (standardly £1,073,100, subject to having locked into a higher amount) will be subject to Income Tax at the recipient’s marginal rate. Otherwise, the position is much as described on pages 55 – 56.
Pensions: Budget 2024 on 30 October 2024
As already stated, the key thing is to take professional advice. In broad terms, for deaths on or after 6 April 2027 any remaining pension funds (colloquially called a ‘pension pot’) will be treated as part of the chargeable estate for Inheritance Tax purposes. The spouse/civil partner exemption will apply in the usual way to any applicable funds passing to such a person.
And then arises the point that where the deceased was aged 75 or older any net of IHT funds left in the pension pot will attract Income Tax at up to 45% on payment to one or more nominated beneficiaries. This continues the existing rule, but produces the potential for double taxation first of Inheritance Tax and then of Income Tax. If the deceased was under 75, the beneficiary will usually receive the pension funds free of Income Tax, subject to the available lump sum and death benefit allowance.
There is also an issue on liability for Inheritance Tax, which of course can be calculated only once the chargeable estate is known including all or part of the £325,000 nil-rate band and potentially the £175,000 residence nil-rate band (for estates of no more than £2m). The executors are generally responsible for reporting and paying Inheritance Tax on pension funds, although the beneficiaries can instruct pension scheme administrators to pay the IHT direct to HMRC. That latter case of course will more easily enable the relevant funds to be found. By contrast where it is the executors paying the tax there may well be issues on how the money is to be accessed.
HMRC have issued regulations, with the responsibility for payment of Inheritance Tax on pension funds from 6 April 2027 falling on your Executor(s). Executors will need first to ascertain and contact any relevant pension administrators to get certainty about the amounts and the beneficiaries
and then deal with those beneficiaries to ensure that the due tax is paid. Only after that has been done can application for probate be made and the administration of the rest of the estate proceed. Delays may ensue where the pension scheme trustees have a discretion over where the funds go and
any such discretions will have to be exercised before the Inheritance Tax position can be finalised.
I have noted above the problem of double taxation insofar as a beneficiary will suffer Income Tax on amounts received. Given issues of timing, care will be needed to ensure that a beneficiary does not in effect suffer Income Tax on any part of the distribution which is paid in Inheritance Tax.
Memoirs (page 62)
Add the following as a new third paragraph:
In addition to the story of your own life, consider what you know and can point to by way of your family history. It is a familiar feature that once one generation has gone, a whole portion of that history dies with them. There may be someone, perhaps you, who is a keeper of that family history
and so it is important, whoever it is, that the story and the photographs are carefully kept. An alternative or additional option is getting an amateur or professional video made, whether of your own life or of your family history. For example, there is a company called Memory Bank Studios
which produces bespoke recorded interviews which future generations can treasure: see www.memorybankstudios.com
Inheritance Tax (page 64)
Add a new penultimate paragraph as follows:
The Inheritance Tax regime distinguishes exempt transfers (which do not attract tax) from chargeable transfers (which do, even at nil%). There is also a category of potentially exempt transfers mentioned on page 66, which are assumed to be exempt unless they become chargeable by reason of the donor’s death within seven years. The rate of tax will be nil to the extent that the chargeable transfer falls within the available nil-rate band mentioned on page 65. To be exempt (or potentially exempt), the transfer or gift must be made to an individual, unless where covered by the annual exemption or the normal expenditure out of income exemption discussed on pages 66 and 67. A lifetime gift to a trust (or settlement) will be an immediately chargeable transfer except to the extent of those two exemptions. A gift under a Will to an interest in possession trust (as described in the Update below under Budget 30 October 2024) can benefit from the spouse/civil partner exemption, though will otherwise be chargeable. Generally, see that section for the distinction between the two main types of trust/settlement.
Inheritance Tax – The General Rule on Death (page 65)
Paragraph 1 – add the following after the second sentence
What follows in the book summarises the position before 6 April 2025. Since then the law has abandoned domicile as a test for UK tax purposes and has replaced it with a test of long-term residence for typically ten consecutive years of residence, subject to particular qualifications. No further detail is required in this context, but just so readers are aware in general terms.
Paragraph 2 last sentence: replace as follows:
The chargeable estate on death includes any ‘failed’ potentially exempt transfers, that is gifts which the donor fails to survive by seven years (see page 66). Where the gift exceeded the nil-rate band of £325,000 and more than three years have passed since the date of the gift, ‘tapering relief’ applies to reduce the rate of tax charged.
Inheritance Tax – The General Rule on Death (page 66)
Paragraph 1 third sentence: delete and replace with the following:
The exemption is limited to £325,000 for gifts from a UK resident person to a spouse/civil partner who is not UK resident. Before 6 April 2025, the application was to gifts from a UK domiciled person to a non-UK domiciled spouse/civil partner.
Inheritance Tax (page 68)
Add new section at the foot of the page:
Budget 30 October 2024
Rachel Reeves’ announcements are summarised below, those on changes to the Agricultural and Business Property Reliefs triggering very significant shockwaves and protests. Remember that the proposals are subject to any amendments before the new rules are enacted. That said, however, draft legislation published by HMRC has confirmed that the Government intends to proceed with the original proposals without any qualifications. In effect the Government has disregarded representations made by the Country Land and Business Association and others, for example that any tax
charged should be deferred until the assets concerned are sold. Pending any relaxation of the draft legislation between now and enactment, as representations continue to be made, families concerned will have to take urgent counter-action, whether involving life assurance or otherwise. It has been reported that large numbers of farms have been sold or put on the market in sad anticipation.
First, the two nil-rate bands of £325,000 and, for a residence, £175,000 described on page 65 will be frozen until the end of tax year 2030/31 (that is beyond the end of 2027/28 as enacted by the previous Conservative Government, interestingly, the basic nil-rate band has remained at £325,000 since 6 April 2009.
Second, major changes have been proposed to the regime for Agricultural and Business Property summarised on page 68, with two significant restrictions to apply from 6 April 2026. The two reliefs will apply only to the first £1m of the total value of qualifying Agricultural and Business Property in an Estate. Above that threshold the relief will be restricted to 50%, that is producing an effective rate of Inheritance Tax of 20%, albeit payable over ten years. Interestingly, the £1m threshold is given per taxpayer, so it would apply separately to individual partners/shareholders and indeed to Trusts (see the next paragraph). That said, if on or after 30 October 2024 an individual creates more than one Trust, the £1m threshold is divided between all such Trusts. Shares quoted on certain Stock Exchanges such as the Alternative Investment Market (or AIM) attract 100% Business Property Relief once owned for two years, given that the business of a company is a qualifying trade. As from 6 April 2026 such relief will be restricted to 50%. As for Agricultural Property Relief, while use for agricultural purposes is necessary, the relief will as from 6 April 2025 apply to land managed under a qualifying environmental agreement, as proposed by Jeremy Hunt’s Budget on 6 March 2024.
To the above the Budget of 26 November 2025 has made one relieving measure. The £1 million threshold for 100% relief will now be transferable between spouses/civil partners, that is, available on the second death to the extent not used on the first.
There are two types of Trust (or Settlement) for Inheritance Tax purposes: an interest in possession trust and a relevant property trust. An interest in possession trust (in which one or more beneficiaries have a right to the income as it arises) comprises both such a trust made before 22 March 2006 and such a trust arising under a Will (which is called an ‘immediate post-death interest’ or IPDI). The beneficiary under an interest in possession trust is treated for Inheritance Tax purposes as if he/she owned the property outright. A relevant property trust comprises both discretionary trusts made before 22 March 2006 and any type of trust made since then. They are subject to a ‘periodic’ charge to Inheritance Tax every 10 years, standardly at 6%. Under the Budget 2024 proposals, that rate of 6% will be reduced to 3% in the case of qualifying Business and Agricultural Property.
Finally, note that, on domicile, Rachel Reeves has confirmed the changes proposed by Jeremy Hunt in his Budget of 6 March 2024 (see separate section), subject to some modifications, as well as making significant changes to the scope of Inheritance Tax for non-UK assets.
Finances (page 71)
Add a new third paragraph:
Some financial advisers offer a model which enables you to calculate what you might need in terms of cash in the years ahead. This is based on the age(s) of a single person or a couple, your state(s) of health, current and prospective spending and future financial needs, especially taking into account the possibility of care home costs. Some of these models can be quite sophisticated. Their use lies in providing you with some guidance on what you might be able to afford safely to give away now.
Setting the Scene (page 74)
Second paragraph: delete the final sentence
Insert a new third paragraph:
AtaLoss is an award-winning UK charity helping bereaved people find support and wellbeing. Their signposting service (www.AtaLoss.org, which is referenced in Appendix 7 on page 98) directs people to the whole range of bereavement services, resources and information provided. This enables the bereaved to find timely and holistic support, tailored to their particular circumstances and needs, for all their grief journey. The charity also provides the peer group support programme – The Bereavement Journey®, which is also referenced on page 98.
Obtaining The Death Certificate (page 75 & 76)
Please replace the text with the following:
The Death Certificate is confirmation of registration of a death in the UK. A significant change to the process of obtaining it was introduced on 9 September 2024. Now, a Medical Examiner is needed to certify every death except those which come before a coroner. The MCCD (Medical Certificate of Cause of Death) requires two signatures to ensure that it is valid. In most cases the first signature will be the person called the ‘Attending [Medical] Practitioner’. The Attending Practitioner will be either a doctor in the hospital or nursing home, or the GP if death occurs at home. The second signature by way of confirmation will be that of the relevant Medical Examiner. Further, the new MCCDs look rather different from the previous short-term death certificates, as they set out detailed information and run to several pages.
The family do need to be quick in registering a death: subject to the different procedure where deaths are referred to a coroner (see below), up to five days after contact by the Medical Examiner are allowed in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, whereas it is eight days in Scotland. The fee is: £12.50 in England and Wales, £10 in Scotland and £8 in Northern Ireland.
On registering the death the Registrar will provide a certificate for burial or cremation (the ‘Green Form’), which the Minister or other person arranging the burial or cremation will need as permission, as will the Funeral Director.
While anyone can apply for a copy of a Death Certificate, only certain individuals may register a death, namely: relatives; a partner living with the deceased; someone present at the death; if the death happens at a private home, someone living there; the person arranging the funeral; a personal representative; or, if the death occurred in hospital or a nursing home or care home; an official from that institution.
A Death Certificate can be ordered online and costs £12.50, so some four days after the application. This assumes that you have a General Register Office (GRO) reference number. If not, application should be made to the local register office where the death was registered. There is a priority service,
which costs £38.50 with the certificate sent the following working day for orders by 4pm. Interestingly, it is illegal to photocopy a Death Certificate, which anyway are not accepted as proof. For all purposes an original or an official certified copy must be used. An official certified copy also costs £12.50, typically sent 2 nd Class within 15 working days.
England and Wales
The Medical Examiner will email the MCCD to the General Register Office appropriate to the deceased’s postcode. The Medical Examiner will then telephone (or email) the applicant to confirm that that has been done, so enabling the applicant to make an appointment to see the Registrar.
The Registrar will want to know from the applicant:
* the deceased’s full name
* any previous names, for example, maiden name
* date and place of birth
* their last address
* their occupation if not retired
* the full name, date of birth and occupation of a surviving or late spouse/civil partner
* whether the deceased was receiving a State pension or other benefits.
It is helpful if the applicant can take to the Registrar:
* Birth Certificate
* NHS Medical Card or number
* Council Tax Bill
* Driving Licence
* Passport
* Marriage/Civil Partnership Certificate where applicable
* Details of any State Pension or other Benefits being paid at the date of death
* Proof of address, eg a utility bill.
Production of the above documents is not essential, though the information given within
them must be produced, along with some other details.
Scotland
The death is registered at a Registration Office: the local one can be found from www.nrscotland.gov.uk. The Registration Office will offer the applicant either an in-office appointment or the ability to register the death by telephone or during an online call. The information needed will be as above, plus the full name and address of the deceased’s doctor. Essential documents will be the MCCD, Birth Certificate and (if applicable) Marriage/Civil Partnership Certificate, together with the NHS no (not necessarily the Certificate). As well as being forwarded to the Registration Office, the MCCD can also be emailed to the applicant.
Northern Ireland
The process is similar. The doctor who signs the MCCD will pass the applicant’s details to the Registrar, for the Registrar to contact the applicant, to enable him/her to make an appointment at the appropriate Registration Office, taking along the Death Registration Form. For further details see www.nidirect.gov.uk.
A sudden or unexpected death
A Coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) may be appointed to investigate the circumstances of the death, both for official purposes and to provide some understanding (if not comfort) to family and friends. Once the investigation has been completed, the Coroner will issue a notification allowing application to be made to register the death.
Death outside the UK
Here it will be the laws of the country where the death took place which will determine what needs to happen.
The Moral?
So, it is not a bad idea to leave with your papers a list of the necessary information/documents, for use when the time comes, perhaps in a safe with details of how to access them. Typically, you will replace the council tax bill from time to time and you are likely to have your driving licence in your wallet or purse.
Appendix 7
SOME USEFUL RESOURCES
Books
Ritchie, Stuart, ’Who Will Get My Money When I Die?’ Rethink Press, 2024
Subtitled ‘The Concise Guide to Making Your Will and Reducing The Impact of Inheritance Tax on Your Estate’, this is a significant addition to the existing literature on the subject. Drawn on Stuart Ritchie’s extensive experience in advising a wide-range of clients (with lots of helpful real life examples), the book is a clear guide to mitigating potential Inheritance Tax liabilities, while planning for possible needs in old age and in case of ill-health. The book includes useful guidance on choosing executors and how to decide what to put in a Will.
Wellman, Jodi ‘You Only Die Once – How to Make It to the End with No Regrets’ 2024
Psychologist Jodi has established an intriguingly named website Four Thousand Mondays, that is the 80 years or so of what might be the average lifetime. So,
depending on how long you have to go, she makes the point that you are generally in charge of how to spend your time, whether it is ‘toiling at a job you hate, or creating a career you love; scrolling mindlessly for hours a day, or pursuing the hobbies and travel that light you up’ … ‘dreading the end, or living a full life that allows you to greet the grim reaper with a smile’. Written in Jodi’s characteristic style, the book is something of a rollicking read, full of a huge variety of stories, exercises, quizzes, quotations and a step-by-step plan ‘to awaken the liveliest version of you’. I can heartily endorse this book as ‘the healthy dose of mortality you need to start living with urgency and meaning’.
Websites
Memoirs – www.memorybankstudios.com
This is a service which (in its own words) ‘offers one of a kind interviews and compilations of your footage, so that your story can be told to your future generations’.
Bereavement – www.ataloss.org
(page 106)
Please replace the text with the following:
AtaLoss wants all bereaved people across the UK to be supported through grief for healthy outcomes. They appeal to everyone making preparations for their death:
– not to be too prescriptive over their funeral wishes, but to leave options open to help with grief;
-to direct their families with their Will to AtaLoss.org and TheBereavementJourney.org (see below); and
-to consider supporting AtaLoss through their Will, to enable the charity to help their loved ones one day.
End of Life planning – www.endoflifematters.com
Ann Kenrick OBE, former Master/CEO of the Charterhouse charity which supports older people in need, provides support and guidance to individuals and groups to get their affairs in order and plans in place. Whatever your situation – young, older, or, like most of her clients, somewhere in the middle – you will receive personalised, creative and empathetic support relating to your particular life context. Ann also runs free Death Cafés and practical, interactive workshops for community groups and corporates.
Pre-death organisation – www.zenplans.com
Zenplans is a digital estate vault (available through solicitors) which helps you organise key estate information in one secure place. This information can be
accessed by your executors and next of kin at the appropriate time, ensuring that everything is in order when needed most.
Post-death administration – www.keylu.com (Page 108)
This should be deleted, Keylu having stopped business.
INDEX (page 112)
Add Domicile 65, 68