How do I tell you about a bereavement?

We understand there is a lot to deal with when going through a bereavement. At Ecology, we will support you as much as we can and help to make the process with us as straightforward as possible. We will need to ask you for some information and documents.

Please call or email as soon as you can. We will explain what happens next, and you can ask us any questions.

If you are experiencing grief, there are specialist organisations that will be able to support you emotionally during this time, including:

Cruse Bereavement Support

Receive support online or over the phone from the specialist bereavement charity Cruse Bereavement Support.

Phone: 0808 808 1677

Get support

UK Government

Practical step-by-step guidance on what to do after a death is provided by the UK Government, including registering the death, notifying the government and dealing with the estate.

Check what to do step-by-step

Citizens Advice

Further advice and information about what to do after a death is available from the independent charity Citizens Advice.

Check what to do after death

Jargon buster

• Administrator – A person responsible for handling the estate of someone who died without a will. This is usually the main beneficiary and is determined by legal rules.
• Beneficiary – Someone who receives an inheritance. If there’s a will, the beneficiaries are chosen by the deceased. Without a will, the rules of intestacy decide.
• Estate – Everything a person owned when they died, such as property, money, savings, investments, vehicles, and personal belongings.
• Estate Administration – The process of managing a deceased person’s estate. This includes valuing the estate, paying debts and taxes, closing accounts, and distributing assets to beneficiaries.
• Executor – A person named in a will to manage the deceased’s estate. They go through probate and handle estate administration. Executors can choose to step down.
• Grant of Letters of Administration – A legal document that allows an administrator to manage the estate when there is no will.
• Grant of Probate – A legal document that allows an executor to manage the estate when there is a will.
• Grant of Representation – A term covering both the Grant of Probate and the Grant of Letters of Administration.
• Intestate – When someone dies without a valid will, their estate is distributed according to the Rules of Intestacy.
• Personal representative – A term for both executors and administrators.
• Probate – A legal process to get permission to manage a deceased person’s Estate. Executors or Administrators apply for this, depending on whether there’s a Will. It’s not always needed and depends on the Estate’s value and assets.
• Probate Registry – A court service that processes applications for a Grant of Representation.
• Renunciation – When an executor formally steps down from their role.
• Rules of Intestacy – Laws that determine who inherits when someone dies without a will, prioritising next of kin.
• Small Estate – An estate valued below the probate threshold. In this case, probate might not be needed.