This link might help when bereavement strikes

[nowtelse2do]

This would have helped me if I had known once.

 

HMRC have not been very helpful to a member on another forum that i'm on. The poor chap is understandably stressed out, yet they keep asking him if his dead wife had done her tax return. >:-)

Hope no one needs it, but you never know.

 

Dave

 

 

https://www.gov.uk/a...nd-tell-us-once

[colin]

When my father died 9 years ago this service didn't exist AFAIK, but couple of months back when my mother died the registrar sorted out the 'tell us once' service, it doesn't stop correspondence from officials thou, only this week I got a letter from 'OPG' requesting sealed copy of death cert, and have previously had to fill in forms for pension service, and attendance allowance, Inland revenue have only sent a letter saying they will be returning some tax,but then General Motors always paid my mothers income tax from pension.

[pkc]

 

Good friend just passed away this week, thanks for the link, very thoughtful. Cheers.

[Dave225]

One of the problems I feel is that naturally the majority of those who die tend to be of an elderly age and this means the spouse is also, so can easily get flustered or confused when faced with the cold face of burocracy. Also many older people may not have family either available or willing to assist, so things get tangled. Plus of course older people are too proud to ask for help.

 

We can all make a Power of Attorney allowing family to sort things out when we are alive, but these stop the instant of death, and you are back ar square 1. I know it sounds old fashioned but there is still a role for a good lawyer to be available when needed to handle these sorts of things. When one of my parents passed away my mother left everything to the lawyer, and similarly when she passed away, he again did all that was necessary. Up here in the north all Wills and estates have to be signed of by the Courts before they can be finalised, and that takes paperwork and 28 days of time. Letting him do the lot was much easier, and he handled all the burocracy.

[Brock]

Dave [OP] I'm pleased you've posted the link for others.

 

We have used this to plan ahead of my mother dying [she's coming up to 94, has severe dementia, and had up to 4 heart attacks] as it will be an emotional time for the family. Based on experience, we decided to nail down the actions to be taken, before Mum goes, so we don't have any family in-fighting when it happens.

 

My sister used it in its earlier format when my brother died and she sorted that out. It took the stress out of dealing with the estate but nothing can remove the emotional turmoil.

 

There is a Kubler Ross bereavement curve which explains the emotional turmoil after death of a loved one - or any major event - and how people deal with it. We used this to help the family cope with the realisation Mum was no longer fit to live alone and was suffering from dementia which rapidly reduced her mental cognitive ability. Sadly, Management Consultants have got hold of the curve and use it to explain change so the original intent has been lost.

 

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/kubler_ross/kubler_ross.htm