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Probate and Estate Administration: What is the Tell Us Once Service?
Tell Us Once is a service that should be used after someone dies. It collects information about the deceased and allows you to report the death to multiple government organisations all at once. The service requires you to complete a form which you can do either on the telephone or online. When the death is registered, the registrar should provide you with a unique number which will be required in order to use the service. The registrar should also be able to advise you about whether or not the service is available in your area. The service is available in Leicester but unfortunately, the service is not available in all areas.
When you complete Tell Us Once, there will be a number of questions that will be asked about the deceased, so you will need to have information about the deceased to hand. Most importantly, you will need their full name, date of death and national insurance number. Once you have used the service, Tell Us Once will make the following organisations aware of the death:
- HMRC
- DWP
- Passport Office
- DVLA
- Local Council
- Public sector or armed forces pension schemes
It is important to inform the above agencies of the death so that they can update their systems accordingly. For example, the DWP may need to cancel benefits and the Passport Office may need to cancel the deceased’s passport. For more information about the Tell Us Once service and to find out whether it is available in your area, please visit the following website:
https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once
You must be aware that there may be others that need to be informed of the death. For example, banks, building societies and insurance providers. At Emery Johnson Astills, we have an experienced Probate and Estate Administration team that can advise you about dealing with an estate of someone close. Please contact Emery Johnson Astills on 0116 255 4855 for an initial consultation and to find out how we can provide practical help at a difficult time.