Practical steps to take in the event of a death

It's never a pleasant moment in life when you have to deal with the death of a close friend or relative, but unfortunately it does happen. It is just as important to be capable of dealing with the emotional side of things as it is with the administrational aspect. It may not have occurred to you before but there are in fact some essential things that should be done in the event of such a tragedy.

- It is important to notify the GP and also the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths once a death occurs.

- Make sure to review all credit union, post office and bank account statements under the person's name as he or she may have life assurance policies which would be able to provide some financial assistance. If so, locate the policy details and give them to your insurance broker or solicitor.

- The solicitor should be contacted to find out if there was a will left and if so, to arrange the probate. This is a legal document which is considered the first step to the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person, resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property.

- There may be an inheritance tax based on the inheritance of all estate from the deceased so it is important to contact a tax adviser for advice in relation to this.

- If the person was still in employment, you should contact the employer to see if any wages are outstanding and if there were any life cover or pension schemes provided by the company.

- It may also be helpful to look up the Citizen Information website for any information that may be needed for specific cases.

As well as taking these practical steps, you should also have the necessary documentation and paperwork that comes with these steps.

- Death certificates are very important and should be obtained as soon as possible. To receive a death certificate you must first bring a Death Notification Form to any Registrar. This can be obtained from the doctor who last dealt with the deceased person. You must fill out part 2 of the form and bring some photo ID. This registration is free of charge however there is a small fee for the issuance of a death certificate (€20). If the cause of death cannot be easily identified, a temporary death certificate can also be issued to assist with financial claiming.

- The PPS No. of all parties involved should be provided. These can be found on P60 forms, public services cards and medical cards.

- The bank account numbers should be noted for all parties involved.

These lists are not exhaustive and may change to some extent depending on the situation and the person involved, however it is important to keep each one of these in mind particularly due to the fact that is can be very daunting or overwhelming when hearing about such news at first. The important thing here is to take the time out to complete these steps, one at a time.

For further information on Inheritance Tax, contact George Skelton at 0539170507 or email gskelton@rda.ie