Bereavement support

A medical examiner will confirm the cause of death when your loved one has passed, and then sign a medical certificate.

After that's happened, you need to register the death within five days (or eight days if you live in Scotland).

You can either register the death online, or at any local register office.

The most important thing you'll need is the medical certificate. Ideally, you should also try to bring some more of their identifying documents, like a:

• birth certificate
• passport
• driving licence
• proof of address
• their National Insurance number

They'll then provide you with a death certificate.

Once you have a death certificate, you can then arrange the funeral.

The person who passed may have organised a pre-paid funeral plan or have simply left some requests, so it's worth checking their paperwork before organising it.

You can either hire a funeral director or organise it yourself.

You may be eligible for certain bereavement benefits, depending on the circumstances of the death.

The options available are:

• Bereavement Support Payment - if your partner has died
• Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave - if your child has died or you've had a stillbirth
• Guardian's Allowance - if you're raising a child whose parents have died

Probate is the legal right to deal with someone's property and money after they've passed.

Depending on the circumstances, you may need to formally apply for probate before you can start dealing with the finances of the person who's died.

You can apply for probate on the government website.