Registering a Death

Registering a Death in Greenock, Inverclyde

Funeral Arrangements?

The choice of a firm of funeral directors is important, as you should feel comfortable and confident with them. They may be known to you personally, may be recommended by a friend, your GP or religious advisor or may have a long established good reputation in your area. They are here to help you and your family through a very difficult and traumatic time. You will find them approachable and sincere in ensuring the arrangements that need to be made will run as smoothly as possible. The National Association of Funeral Directors and the Society of Allied Independent Funeral Directors both have a code practice and members of these can provide an estimate of costs - their own and those fees they will pay on your behalf and add to the account.

Your funeral director can make all the arrangements for the funeral, burial or cremation, religious or secular service. Unfortunately it is a common misconception that you can only contact a funeral director once the death has been registered, this is not the case and we advise you to contact the funeral director as soon as possible.

They are professional, experienced and above all helpful and comforting for you and your family at this most difficult time.

Call the funeral directors opposite, who are on hand to help you now.

 

Legal Advice & Probate?

The process of administering the estate of the deceased person can involve extremely complex legal issues and technicalities. There are a whole host of different legal situations that can arise and this is where the immediate assistance of an experienced legal firm will help. It is of paramount importance that you receive legal advice at the earliest opportunity. The solicitors will be able to explain things to you in lay mans terms and be able to advise you upon whatever the circumstances of the estate are. Clearly it is also of the utmost importance to families that the estate is administered efficiently and sympathetically as obtaining probate can very often be a very lengthy process, please be aware of this. A specialist solicitor within the firm who may also be a STEP consultant, (a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) will be able to help you and will be experienced in assisting families through the process. What if there is no will?

In the first instance call the Solicitors firm opposite today, explain the circumstances and arrange an appointment with the solicitor to discuss the situation. It is safer in the long run because of the various laws that affect who is entitled to wind up the estate and receive the money.

Property?

Generally the most valuable asset the bereaved will inherit is a property. This will need to be valued for probate purposes to ascertain a correct value, that may well have an impact upon any Inheritance Tax payable. You may wish or need to raise capital against the property to pay care, rest or nursing home fees. Furthermore, after valuation there may be the intention to sell the property and distribute the legacies to the relatives.

You will require the assistance of a local member of either the OEA, Ombudsmen of Estate Agents, NAEA National Association of Estate Agents or RICS Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. They will know the local area well and will be able to provide an accurate, necessary, valuation for an appropriate fee. If they also sell property, the fee paid is normally deducted from any fees due when they have sold the property for you.

Call the firm opposite who will be able to advise you on the next step and who are experienced in dealing with property in probate circumstances for this area of the country.

Financial Advice?

If you are the ‘executor’ of a will, ‘trustee’ of a trust, or ‘administrator’ of an estate, you may well have a small, medium or large sum of money to deal with. It may just be the case of distributing the sum to the beneficiaries of the estate, for them to do what they want.

However, the beneficiaries may be too young or financially naïve, to know what they should do. They will be looking to you to do what is best for them, and of course you will want to do what is best for them. But how financially aware are you? Do you know all that is available to you in the financial services market?

The answer is probably no.

You may have inherited a large sum of money personally, do you really know what to do next? A new mortgage? A new or larger pension? School fee planning? Investments???

This is where you need the help of a Financial Adviser. They will be able to show you what the most suitable investments for you are and do what is required under guidance from you, explaining things in simple terms. In these turbulent times the need for advice regarding finance has never been more important. Speak to the firm above today, who are qualified and experienced in this field.

Floral Tributes?

Flowers are the most internationally recognised silent symbol of love. At this time undoubtedly every family wants the best for their loved one and the choice of flower, style and colour is enormous.

You may consider many different options for the coffin, cars, church, crematorium and perhaps even dressing the venue for your funeral wake or tea.

This is where a professional local experienced florist can help. They will be able to guide you through the many beautiful designs available, choice of flowers and discuss bespoke arrangements with you, remember, they will have helped many families before and indeed they are here to help you now.

Call the florist opposite today to organise the appropriate funeral flowers.

Catering?

There will be many catering options available for the funeral wake or tea and this is where you will require the assistance of an outside catering firm who is experienced in funeral teas.

They will be able to assist you upon the variety of menu choices available, help you plan ahead for the amount of guests who will be attending, discuss costs and generally put your mind at ease with the catering arrangements.

The starting point is to call the catering firm opposite today to discuss your individual requirements.

Monumental Masonry?

If you are considering placing a headstone or an additional inscription upon an existing one, most crematoriums will advise you to wait for a period of approximately six months before placing it.

However we suggest you contact the mason as soon as is convenient to arrange whatever is necessary, to discuss what is available and importantly to avoid any unnecessary delay after this initial waiting period.

Most monumental masons are members of either the National Association of Memorial Masons and or the British Register of Accredited Memorial Masons, who ensure the highest standards of craftsmanship and professionalism within the industry.

We suggest that you use the member firm opposite.

Funeral Wake or Tea?

These are often necessarily arranged at short notice and there are several areas to consider.

Will you require a large or small venue or room? What choice of catering arrangements? Bar? Disabled access? Car parking? Possibly accommodation for relatives who may have to travel far for the funeral?

 

A larger hotel or function venue can usually accommodate all of these requirements and will have the experienced staff on hand together with the facilities needed to ensure a dignified time for everyone attending the event. We appreciate this may be a very difficult time for you, please call the venue opposite, they are experienced and will help put your mind at ease with whatever arrangements may be necessary for your family.

 

Auctioneers & Valuers?

The contents of the property will have to be valued for probate, in some circumstances there will be single or possibly multiple items of great financial value that may have to be valued for probate purposes.

These could include items of jewellery, antique furniture, ceramics, paintings etc. An accurate up to date valuation will need to be obtained for probate, this is where the services of local qualified auctioneers and valuers will be able to help you.

For the appropriate fee, they will be able to provide accurate acceptable valuations for probate and indeed insurance purposes, they may also if required, be able to either purchase or dispose of any unwanted items on your behalf.

Speak to the professionals opposite today for expert advice on what to do next.

Tax?

If the person who died was paying tax on income from investments or as a self-employed person or as an employee, tell the tax office about their death as soon as possible. This will enable you the deceased’s tax affairs to be settled. Depending upon the circumstances, this may involve some more tax or claiming repayment.

The particular tax office to contact will depend upon the deceased’s circumstances. For instance:

• If the deceased was an employee or had a pension from a former employer, the pay section of the employer or pension organisation will know the deceased’s tax office.

• If the deceased was self-employed, contact the tax office nearest to the place of business.

• If the deceased was unemployed, or retired without a pension from a former employer, contact the tax office nearest to the home address.

• If the deceased was the owner of a business or Limited Company there could be other implications and requirements that have to be addressed.

We advise you to contact the firm of accountants above as soon as possible, they will be members of either the Institute of Chartered Accountants or the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and will be able to assist you with the legalities and complexities of organising the tax and or business interests of the deceased.

Call and arrange an appointment with them now.

Nursing / Care / Rest Homes?

During this time it may be necessary for a relative to be re-located to either a nursing, rest or care home.

The homes will generally be able to offer short term care commonly called 'respite', or indeed if the circumstances require, long term care to suit your families individual needs.

Remember that these venues facilitate families difficult circumstances continually and will be able to put your mind at ease regarding arranging the care for a loved one.

We suggest telephoning them in the first instance to discuss what options are available to you and to gain a better understanding of the process and costs involved and the facilities that they have to offer.

Bereavement Counselling?

Many people find that leading upto and following a family bereavement they need to talk through their grief. You may still have many questions which remain to be answered.  

Trained bereavement counsellors try to help ease the distress of bereavement through providing a caring and sensitive service.

We realise that at this sad time family and friends would have been too distressed to take in all the information that may have been given to them verbally and may need to discuss their situation with someone who is unbiased and impartial.

The professionals opposite specialise in helping individuals through the grieving process and remember they will have helped many people before.

We recommend that you call them today and see if they can offer you some comfort through this difficult process.

 

 

Who Can Register A Death In Scotland?

The death can be registered by:

• Any relative of the deceased, or
• Any person present when the person died, or
• The deceased's executor or other legal representative, or
• The occupier of the property where the person died, or if there is no such person,
• Anyone else who knows the information to be registered.

How And Where Do I Register A Death?

Any death which occurs in Scotland must be registered within eight days by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The law allows a death to be registered in any registration district in Scotland.

You can obtain the address of the local registrar from the bottom of this page. 

The opening hours of registration offices varies between local authorities and some operate an appointments system.  You should therefore check with the relevant local authority before attending an office.  You will wish to note that a burial can take place before the registration but that a cremation can only take place after the death has been registered.

What Documents Should I Take To The Registrar?

You should take with you:

• The medical certificate of cause of death;
• The deceased's birth and marriage certificate;
• The deceased's NHS medical card;
• Any documents relating to the receipt of a pension or allowance from government funds.

Do not worry if any of these documents are not available as the registrar can still proceed to register the death.

When the registration is complete the registrar will give you, free of charge:

• A certificate of registration of death for production to the person in charge of the burial ground or crematorium;
• A Social Security registration or notification of death certificate for use in obtaining or adjusting Social Security benefits.
• An abbreviated extract (i.e. excluding cause of death and parentage details) of the death entry.
• You can obtain a full extract of the death entry for a fee. 

What If The Death Occurs Abroad?

You should register the death according to local regulations in the country concerned and obtain a certificate of death. You may also be able to register the death with the British Consul in that country for a fee. However, there is no obligation to do so. A record of the death will be sent to Scotland and you will thereafter be able to get a copy from New Register House.

Unfortunately, we do not currently have the contact details for this District Register Office in our database.