Dealing with a bereavement is upsetting, sometimes devastating. Dealing with your loved one’s affairs can add even more stress to an already difficult time.
There are a few tools that can help. And Tell Us Once is one of them.
Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go. It can be used if the deceased was living in England, Scotland or Wales, and you need to have a death certificate or interim death certificate to use the service.
You also need permission from any surviving spouse or civil partner, the next of kin, executor, administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died, before you give out details of the deceased.
When registering a death, the registrar might actually complete the Tell Us Once details for you, or they will give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself online or by phone.
The Tell Us Once service will notify:
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel benefits and entitlements
- Passport Office – to cancel a British passport
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – to cancel a licence, remove the person as the keeper of a vehicle and end any vehicle tax
- The local council – to cancel Housing Benefit, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
- Veterans UK – to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
- Social Security Scotland – to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment.
Tell Us Once will also notify (if relevant):
- Armed Forces Pension Scheme
- NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
- Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme
- Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS)
- Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland.
To maximise Tell Us Once, it’s helpful if you have the following documents handy:
| Document | Information needed |
| Passport | Passport number, town of birth |
| Driving licence | Driving licence number |
| V5 | Vehicle registration number |
| Council Tax bill, Housing benefit bills, etc | Name of their local council |
| Blue Badge | Blue Badge number |
| Benefit information or state pension statements | Information on what benefits they were receiving |
| Armed Forces Pension or Compensation Schemes | Details of the schemes |
| Public Sector Pension Schemes | Details of the schemes |
| Pay slip or pension documents | National Insurance number |
And here’s another useful tool
You need time to grieve, without sales people trying to sell stuff over the ‘phone. And you may need to keep a watchful eye on the post to ensure the relevant documents for probate are dealt with and not lost within a pile of junk mail. Getting rid of unwanted calls and direct mail will help to reduce the burden.
The TPS – Telephone Preference Service and the MPS – Mailing Preference Service stop unwanted mail and telephone marketing calls by adding the name of the deceased to their lists.
Telephone Preference Service: Telephone Preference Service
Mailing Preference Service: Mailing Preference Service
Here to help
These two tools will help a little. But we understand that there is a lot to do. Should you need any advice or support, please do not hesitate to contact Lois Di Vito on 01756 692869 or email lois.divito@awbclaw.co.uk.
Read more …
Do You Need A Solicitor To Arrange Probate?