Step 1: Tell us about the bereavement and begin dealing with the estate

You should register the death within 5 days of it happening. You can do this at a register office (opens in a new window). We recommend using one in the place where the person passed away.

Once you've registered the death, you'll be given a death certificate. This is a legal document that confirms the date, location and cause of death. Getting copies of this from the register office will come with a fee. If you can, try to get a few copies as some organisations, like utility companies, will need an original rather than one you've printed at home. You can keep costs down by taking in an original certificate in person, where possible, as some organisations will be able to photocopy this and return it to you.

Always remember that while it’s important to let all the organisations that the person had accounts with know about the bereavement, it doesn’t all need to be done in a day. You can complete this process at a pace that works for you.

It's important you let us know that someone has died as soon as possible. You can do this with or without a death certificate. However, it’s quicker and easier for you if you have it.

We'll look at personal representatives later on who should deal with the estate.

Once you've let us know, we'll:

• restrict any withdrawals on sole accounts to safeguard them
• stop any unprepared marketing – unfortunately, you may continue to receive some mailing for a little while as it may have already been prepared
• write to the personal representative (if we know who that is) to let them know what the next steps are.

When you contact us, your information may also be used for the prevention of money laundering. Find out more about how we use your information

Anyone can tell us about a death using the above channels. You’ll just need to provide a few details to prove you knew the person.

Our bereavement services team will then try and verify the death through the government database. But we still may need to see the death certificate.

The Death Notification Service (opens in a new window) is a free, external website that lets you notify all participating banks and building societies, including us, at once.

The other financial providers will update their records and contact you within 10 days to let you know the next steps.

If you use this service, remember to come back here and continue moving through the steps so that you don’t miss anything.

A person’s estate includes everything they own or that’s registered in their name, including money (cash, bank accounts or building society accounts), property, insurance policies, stocks and shares. After someone dies, their estate is either shared out according to their will or, in the case of intestacy (this means where no will was left), it’s given to their next of kin.

A will is a legal document that indicates who should benefit from the estate and how. It may also appoint an executor to distribute the estate, appoint guardians or contain funeral wishes.

If there’s a will, we won’t need to see it to close or release funds from an account.

If there isn't a will, this means the estate is in intestacy. The Government has created a guide to who inherits if someone dies without a will (opens in a new window) to help you know what to do next if this describes your situation.

As ever, remember to come back here after you've read the Government's guide so that you don't miss anything.

Sometimes, the will doesn't appoint an executor. If this is the case, there are 2 main options for who could deal with the estate: apply to be the personal representative yourself or get support from a legal professional.

If you're legally entitled to do so, you can apply to be the personal representative and deal with the estate yourself.

The tasks of the personal representative can include:

• collecting all the assets of the estate
• dealing with any paperwork
• settling any debts, taxes, funeral costs and administration costs
• appointing a solicitor.

If the person’s Nationwide account contained £50,000 or more, you’ll need to apply for probate and provide us with proof of this through a Grant of Probate. Please note that other account providers and financial organisations may need a Grant of Probate for accounts with less than £50,000.

You may not need probate if the person who died only had some savings or premium bonds or if they had jointly owned their assets like property or shares. The Government has created a guide to help you understand whether you need to apply for probate.

We recommend following the Government's guide to applying for probate (opens in a new window) if this option seems best.

Someone, such as a relative or spouse, may have already applied for probate for this person. You can find out if this is the case if you search probate records for documents and wills (opens in a new window). This person will then be the personal representative instead.

You can hire a professional to help with some or all of the tasks of dealing with an estate. This will come at a cost, but they will be familiar with the whole process.

MoneyHelper has created a handy guide to when and how to use a solicitor or probate specialist (opens in a new window) to help you decide the best option for your situation.

Remember that sometimes a legal professional is already appointed in the will to act as the representative. They will then be the executor for the person who has died. You should first check the will to understand your circumstances.

By now you should have:

If you haven't yet completed all of these things, go back and work your way through this page.

Once there are done, you can now move on to step 2. This will tell you what happens to the accounts the person held, including:

• current accounts
• credit cards
• investments
• savings accounts
• mortgages
• personal loans
• home insurance
• life insurance
• trustee accounts.