If you are dealing with the accounts of someone who has died, you don’t have to do everything at once. Most of it can wait until after the funeral. The exceptions are registering the death within the legal deadline and watching out for scams. Get the paperwork first, save what matters before you close anything, and keep their email and phone number working until the rest is done.
- What you need after a death: certificates, probate and moreThe death certificates, grants and court papers banks and online companies ask for in the UK, the US and the EU, with deadlines and fees.
- Closing a deceased person’s accounts: a step-by-step orderA practical order for notifying banks, stopping payments and closing online accounts after a death, and why email and the phone number go last.
- A deceased person’s phone: what Apple, Google and carriers can doWhat Apple, Google, Samsung and UK mobile operators can and cannot do with a deceased person's phone, and how to keep the number.
- A deceased person’s computer: Windows, Mac and the lawWhat to do with a dead relative's Windows PC or Mac: recovery keys, what Microsoft and Apple can't do, and the legal grey area around passwords.
- Scams that target bereaved families and how to report themThe scams aimed at grieving families in the UK and US, from fake funeral livestreams to inheritance letters, and where to report them.