How to register a death and get a Death Certificate.
How long do you have to register a death?
Where to register a death
Bournemouth Registry Office
The Town Hall Bournemouth
• To book an appointment with a Registrar
• You can register a death from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 4pm at Bournemouth Register Office.
• Please phone 01202 454945 to book an appointment. You can call:
• Monday – Thursday, 8.30 am to 5.15 pm. Fridays, 8.30 am to 4.15 pm
Poole Registry Office
The Guildhall
Market Street
Poole
BH15 1NF
Opening hours, Monday to Thursday: 9am to 4:30pm
Friday: 9am to 4pm
Telephone 01202 633744
Ferndown Registry Office
King George V Pavilion
Peter Grant Way,
Ferndown,
BH22 9EN
Telephone: 01305 225153
Monday – Friday 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM
✶ available 24 hours a day 7 days a week
✶ Here When You need us most
✶ Telephone 01202 879 289
The Grant Of Probate
What is probate
Applying for the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die is called ‘applying for probate’. If the person left a will, you’ll get a ‘grant of probate’. If the person did not leave a will, you’ll get ‘letters of administration’. You apply for both in the same way. Sometimes depending on the estate you may need to instruct a Solicitor to deal with probate for you.
You may not need probate if the person who died:
Ad jointly owned land, property, shares or money – these will automatically pass to the surviving owners. Only had savings or premium bonds. Contact each asset holder (for example a bank or mortgage company) to find out if you’ll need probate to get access to their assets. Every organisation has its own rules.
How a probate application works
Check if there’s a will. There’s a different process if there’s no will. Value the estate and report it to HMRC. Apply for probate. Pay any Inheritance Tax that’s due. Collect the estate’s assets, for example money from the sale of the person’s property. Pay off any debts, for example unpaid utilities bills. Keep a record (‘estate accounts’) of how any property, money or possessions will be split. Pass the estate (‘distribute the assets’) on to the people named in the will (‘beneficiaries’).
More information on Registering A Death
What is a Death Certificate?
What do you need a Death Certificate for?
You’ll need the Death Certificate to deal with the estate of the person who has died. It’s a statutory certificate issued at the time in which a person taking responsibility for the funeral arrangements registers the death.
The certificate offers the name and surname of the deceased, their sex, age, birth details, occupation, the cause of death, when and where the person died, a description and residence of the informant, when the death was registered and the signature of the registrar.
When registering a death, it is important to ask for additional copies of the Death Certificate as you may need to give them to insurance, bank or pension companies.
You may also be required to give copies to the executor or administrator of the Will who is dealing with the property and finances of the person who has passed away.
How much is a Death Certificate?
How to get a copy of a Death Certificate
Who can collect a Death Certificate?
What happens if a coroner is involved?
When a loved one sadly dies suddenly or unexpectedly, the death will be reported to the Coroner to investigate the death.
It is their duty to identify how, when and where the person died for official records, as well as for giving some level of understanding to friends and family of the deceased.
Unfortunately, this may delay your funeral plans as a post-mortem or inquest will usually take place. We will be able to help you should the coroner become involved.