Bereavement

Bereavement is the experience of losing someone important in our lives.
If you’ve lost your partner, one of the most important things you can do is spend some time gathering information – documents, copies of death certificates, bank statements and utility bills etc.

There are a raft of organisations that you’ll need to get in contact with including banks, pension or annuity companies and life insurance companies, but in order to get access to the deceased’s accounts or records you may need to apply for a grant of representation that gives you the legal rights to deal with their estate. Any jointly held property or accounts may not need this, but it’s worth checking with a solicitor. There is quite a detailed legal process that then follows which is known as probate.

The MoneyHelper website (backed by the government) provides a range of information and guides spanning what to do when someone dies, and sorting out the estate and money of someone who’s died.

Notifying us about the death of a policyholder

Please take a look at our ‘How do I notify you of a death’ frequently asked question for more information.