Death admin

Lots of good advice here. I am dealing with my late mother’s estate and have found the bank bereavement services on line very helpful. My mother’s local branch didn’t want to know, said all bereavement services now on line.
I have engaged a solicitor to deal with Probate as the Will is not very straightforward.
I agree, it is hard dealing with paperwork and grieving too.
Why not get a good friend or relative you trust to help?

The admin after my husbands death was very stressful. I completed the tell Me Once forms but frankly it was chaotic. Phoning the DPP like a dark comedy. Id phone, the line would be answered a recorded message would tell me how busy they were, I’d hold on and wait 15 or 20 mins for the call to be answered. On several occasions I was told I’d called the wrong department, no id say, I have my lap t open and this is the correct number. No, it’s changed you’ll have to find the right number

So, I kept two hours in the morning clear to work through my to do list. I did the admin when my parents died easily. My husband’s was more of a challenge despite us having done a good plan

Sorry to hear of your loss.
Ageuk as a good check list of what to do when someone dies.

I did all the paperwork when my Dad passed away a few years ago, managed to get it all sorted fairly easily. Did the Probate myself. Used the Tell us Once service and made personal visits to bank/BS. My only difficulty was proving who I was, I do not have any form of photo ID. But got that solved and plain sailing then.
Cleared house, sold it then settled utilities and finally sorted his will. All done in 6 months. Kept a notebook of all transactions.

Yes to getting it all together first and then writing a prioritised list. To avoid getting overwhelmed, I had a target of two tasks a day. I grouped the tasks in the different categories - financial, personal etc

Look into Tell Us Once you can notify government departments - pensions, benefits etc in one go.
I wish you luck and my condolences.

First i got together all the relevant paperwork i made a list of banks,pensions,utilities,insurances etc. Is there a will? Family that need informing? Property?
I dealt with the bank first then worked through the list informing people, finding out if there are outstanding bills to be paid.
Its a lot to consider but if you are methodical you will get through it.

Hi l am so sorry for your loss. I lost my parents 4&5 years ago and sorting their estate out was overwhelming at times, while grieving.
I found that having a note book and writing down everything that needed doing, I tried to put everything in order of priority, then crossed it off when done. Try not to do too much at the same time. I found focusing on each thing individually rather than all at once helped me.