Letting us know when someone dies

• You’ll need to register their death within 5 days, or 8 days if you live in Scotland.
• For a guide on how to do this, visit gov.uk/register-a-death.
• Once you’ve registered their death you’ll be given a death certificate.

Not everyone makes a will, but if they do it’ll say who is responsible for carrying out their wishes. These people are known as executors.

If they didn’t make a will, typically their next of kin will become the administrator of the estate. ‘Estate’ refers to any money, property, or possessions they owned.

• You can choose to pay the funeral bill and other expenses with any money left in their account. We can help you use their money to pay for:
  • Funeral costs (we’ll need the full and final invoice)
  • Inheritance tax
  • Probate or confirmation fees
• If you’re not sure where to start, or you’re struggling with costs, there’s a helpful guide on the gov.uk website.

It can be daunting to think about who you’ll need to tell. To give some guidance, these are the companies and organisation that will need to know:

• Banks and building societies
• National Savings and Investments (NS&I)
• Insurance companies
• Utility companies
• Department for Work and Pensions
• TV, phone, and broadband providers

The government’s ‘Tell Us Once’ service is a single form that tells all government bodies about their death. You’ll need to register their death before using this service. When their death is registered, you’ll be given a unique reference number for the Tell Us Once service.

To do this, you’ll need

• A smartphone or tablet that can take a photo.
• Photo ID to verify yourself.
• An email addresses so we can contact you about the accounts your loved one held with us.
• The email addresses for any next of kin or executors are useful. If you don’t have them, that’s OK. We can get them later.

What will we ask for?

1. Details of the person who died.
2. Their account details, if you have them.
3. Information about any next of kin/executors.
4. We’ll ask you to upload a death certificate and a Will, if they had one.
5. If you want to pay for the funeral from their TSB account, you can also upload a funeral invoice (we can’t accept estimated funeral bills).

If we need any more information, we’ll email you to ask for it. These emails will come from adobesign@adobesign.com or ESUcustomercare@tsb.co.uk. We’ll send you an automatic email as soon as the form is complete. If this doesn’t come through within a few minutes, please check your spam or junk folder.

If you don’t hold any products with TSB, please use the form below.

Having trouble with the form?

Filling out the form:

If we ask you for ID when filling out the bereavement form, you’ll need to use your phone or tablet to take pictures. You’ll need to take a picture of yourself and your photo ID (such as a driving licence or passport).

To get the best result:

• Lay the ID completely flat on a clear surface with nothing else in the picture.
• The whole document needs to be visible, so don't crop it.
• Try to avoid overhead lights or using flash as this may distort the picture.
• When you’ve taken the photo, make sure it’s in focus and you can read all of the text.

After completing the form, we’ll email a copy to any next of kin or executors that you’ve named. They’ll then be able to digitally sign it. Once everyone has signed the form, we’ll start working with you to close the account.

Please note: We use Government ID to add protection to this form. As part of this security, the form expires after 60-minutes. All your information will be saved, you’ll just need to sign back in with your Government ID to continue.

We use Adobe Sign for this kind of request. Adobe will pass the information you provide to us in a secure manner and won’t process it in any other way. Information on how we use your data can be found in our Data Privacy Notice.

Screen reader users are advised to use an alternative channel

You can tell us about a death using our online form. To do this, you’ll need:

• The details of our customer, including their account details.
• Law company details, including address and contact details.
• Their death certificate, either the original or a copy.
• Funeral invoice, if applicable.
• Details of where you would like the payment sent.

If you’d rather, you can let us know someone has died over a video call, on the phone, or by visiting us in branch.

However you choose to tell us, we’ll need to know these details about our customer:

• Their name
• Date of birth
• Date of death
• Last known address

You’ll also need:

• Death certificate
• A Will, if there is one
• Your identification

Ways to tell us about a death:

If you have an email address, a smartphone, and internet access, you can let us know:

You can book an appointment online at a time that works for you. We’ll talk you through everything and fill out the form on your behalf.

• Using video banking, 7 days a week.
• Face-to-face in branch.

The process for registering a death for a British citizen not in the UK is slightly different. The government website has a detailed guide for what you’ll need to do if someone dies abroad.

Letting us know about the death is the same process. The only difference will be that we might ask for the original death certificate from local authority of the country where they died. And, if the death certificate isn’t in English, then we’ll also need a certified translation.

If there were any Power of Attorneys in place, they automatically end when someone dies.

The responsibility of managing their finances will be passed to the executors named in their Will, or to their administrators/ next of kin if no Will is in place.

When planning or paying for the funeral, if you’re not sure where to start or you’re struggling with costs, there’s a helpful guide to arranging a funeral on the gov.uk website.

You can pay for the funeral or other expenses with any money in their account. We can help you use their money for:

• Funeral costs (we just need the full and final invoice\)
• Inheritance tax
• Probate or confirmation fees

After you’ve told us about their death, we’ll secure their account(s) to stop any money from going in or out. We’ll also stop any cards or cheque books they have, and make sure no marketing material is being sent.

We won’t block any payments on joint accounts, so you can continue to use the account. If there are payments from the joint account you want to cancel, simply let us know.

We’ll usually be in touch within a week if we need anything else. Otherwise, we’ll let you know when everything is complete.

If you’re dealing with the debts of someone you’ve lost, or you’re struggling with payments, please talk to us. We’re here to help and support you.

Current or savings accounts

We’ll secure their account(s), to stop any money from going in or out. We’ll also freeze any cards or cheque books they have. With joint accounts, we won’t block any payments, so you can continue using the account as normal.

ISA

Any ISA they held with us will be closed and included as part of their estate.

You aren’t able to transfer this ISA to one that’s held by someone else. However, a surviving spouse or civil partner can make use of the ISA allowance that has built up. This is called the Additional Permitted Subscription (APS).

Complete the form and send it to:

ISA Team
TSB Bank PLC
PO BOX 373
Leeds
LS14 9GQ

Insurance

TSB home insurance is underwritten by Aviva. We’ll let them know about their death, and Aviva will send you a letter about your options.

Credit cards

We’ll give you guidance on clearing any balance left on their account. If they were an additional cardholder on somebody else’s credit card, we’ll cancel that card.

Mortgage, loan, or overdraft

Dealing with the debt of someone you’ve lost can be difficult. If you’re struggling to keep up with payments, we’re here to help and support you. If they had a mortgage, loan, or overdraft with us, then we’ll let you know what the balances are on these accounts and what your options are.

Find out what support is available to you on our Money Worries page.

Business Banking accounts

If they were part of a limited company, you’ll need to update Companies House before we can remove them from a TSB business account.

Depending on the type of business entity, and if the business is going to continue trading, you may need to open another business account before you can close this one.

If you want, you can talk to our specialist bereavement team are available over the phone on 0345 835 7834 or by email ESUCustomerCare@tsb.co.uk. We’re here 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

To send us anything in the post, our address is:

TSB Bereavement Team
Mail Processing Centre (MPC)
Manston Lane
Leeds
LS14 9GQ

We know that dealing with debt can be difficult, especially when you’re grieving. We’re here to offer the support you need:

• For loans, overdrafts or credit cards, please call us on 0345 609 9283. We’re here Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm, and 9am to 1pm Saturdays.
• For mortgages, call us on 0345 835 5404. We’re here 8am to 7:30pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 12:30pm Saturdays.

If you’ve fallen behind on any repayments, please talk to us. We’re here 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 8am to 4pm Saturdays.

• For loans, call us on 0345 600 8973
• For credit cards, it’s 0345 600 8972

We’ve listed some useful contacts at the bottom of this page, who offer free, independent advice on dealing with finances after a death.

To see what support we offer, please visit our Money Worries page.

Estate – This refers to the property, money and possessions of the person who died that will need to be dealt with after death.

Death Certificate – this is a certified copy of the entry in the register of deaths. The registrar can provide a number of copies to save time when you’re registering claims with various financial companies.

Executor - The person named in the Will to administer the estate and carry out the wishes of the person who has died.

Letters of Administration - A document that gives the power and authority to sort out the estate after a death where there is no Will.

Probate - this is a document that says who can deal with the estate of the person who has died. We’ll let you know if we need Probate when you tell us of their death. Probate can also be known as the ‘Grant of Probate’ when there’s a will in place, or the ‘Grant of Letters of Administration’ when there isn’t a will.

Certificate of Confirmation (Scotland) - this is the legal evidence of the personal representative’s authority to manage the deceased’s estate whether or not there is a Will. It is a court ruling of the Sheriff Court in Scotland authorising the personal representative to administer the estate. It also acts as confirmation of the executor’s office.

Power of Attorney - A legal document authorising someone to represent or transact on the account holders behalf.

If you need more support or would like us to work with you differently, please let us know. We’re committed to supporting your needs, whatever they may be. More support is available on our ‘Help & Support’ page.

Here are some useful resources for dealing with a bereavement:

Life Ledger - Life Ledger is a free service that allows you to report a death to multiple companies from one place

Government advice - Registering a death (England and Wales) – For help of what to do when someone dies

Government advice - Registering a death (Scotland) – For help of what to do when someone dies

Government advice - Benefits and financial support when someone dies

Tell us once service - A service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go

Bereavement Advice - Bereavement Advice Centre is a free helpline and web-based information service provided by Co-op Legal Services

Money Helper - What to do when someone dies - Learn how to deal with money after a death, from paying for the funeral to looking after the paperwork and household bills.

Cruse Bereavement Care – Is a charity to support you after the death of someone close. They offer a range of free confidential support for adults and children.

Samaritans - Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland

The Bereavement Register - Stopping direct mail being sent to the deceased

HM Inheritance tax – For help and information on inheritance tax

Citizens Advice – What to do after a death

MoneySavingExpert – What to do when someone dies including a guide on crucial tips to make things easier