If you have recently suffered a bereavement please accept our condolences. We hope the following notes will help to explain some of the matters which you will have to deal with during the next few days and weeks. Please ask to talk to one of the partners if you need any further information or help.
1. Register the death with the local Registrar.
Depending on the circumstances you will probably have been given a form by the hospital to take to the Registrar. The Registrar registers the death and will produce the death certificate. It often helps to have a few copies of the certificate which will be needed by banks, buildings societies, insurance companies and so on. You will have to make an appointment to register the death. Appointments can be made online or by telephone
The Registrar for Bognor Regis is at:
Bognor Regis Register Office
Durban House
South Bersted Business Park
Durban Road
Bognor Regis
PO22 9RE
The Registrar for Chichester is at:
Chichester Register Office
Record Office
Orchard Street
Chichester
PO19 1DD
The telephone and website link is the same for all West Sussex Register Offices: 01243 642122
2. Arrange the funeral.
You can do this yourself directly with the crematorium or church but many people prefer to have a funeral director take care of the arrangements.
3. Use the Government “Tell Us Once” service.
This service allows most government departments to be notified from one report and on one form. The registrar will give you a form to complete or you can deal with it online. Click here to access the form
This notification will cover HM Revenue & Customs, DWP for pensions and benefits, public sector pensions, housing benefit, the DVLA and Passport Office.
4. The administration of the estate.
Depending on the size of the estate you may need a Grant of Probate (if there was a Will) or Letters of Administration (if the deceased left no Will).
We can take the burden of this away from you by assisting you with:
Ascertaining details of the assets and liabilities of the estate, obtaining valuations etc
The preparation of the inheritance tax forms (even if no inheritance tax is in fact payable)
The preparation of the oath
The application to the Probate Registry
Once the Grant has been obtained we can continue to the next stage of:
Collecting in the assets and closing accounts
Paying any debts
The preparation of estate accounts and advising the beneficiaries of where they stand
Selling or transferring property to beneficiaries or a surviving spouse, depending on the circumstances.
Alternatively you may feel comfortable taking over once the grant has been obtained.
We can help as much or as little as you like and offer both fixed fee services or hourly rates. Unlike some other firms we will never charge an additional fee as a percentage of the estate.
We strive to deal with the administrations with the utmost care and attention and as efficiently and economically as possible.
We are proud to be the first firm of accountants in West Sussex to be licensed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) to carry out the reserved legal activity of non-contentious probate.
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