Bereavement Support

We’re here to help and support you. Please let us know as soon as possible if someone who holds investments on our platform has died. You’ll need to send us some key documents to verify the death and continue with the bereavement process. 

Get in touch with our team: 

Email: clientservices@wealthtime.com 

Phone: 0345 680 8000 

Postal Address: Wealthtime, PO Box 4328, Bath, BA1 0LR 

If the deceased person has a written will, they should have appointed an executor to carry out their wishes. This person is given the legal power to deal with financial issues after their death. For example, paying any outstanding debts or tax. They’re also responsible for dividing up their estate, including assets such as property, savings and personal belongings – according to the deceased’s wishes as stated in their will. The act of settling an estate is called probate.

When a person dies without a will in place, their assets are considered legally to be ‘intestate’. In this case, the most ‘entitled’ person can apply to become the administrator of the estate. Learn more on the Government website.

One of the first things you need to do is register the death. The government website will guide you through this. In the UK, this should happen within five days of a person dying. Once registered, you’ll pay a small fee to get the death certificate. This gives you legal proof you can use to notify banks and other organisations. It can be helpful to get more than one copy of the death certificate.

A useful way to notify all government departments such as HMRC, DVLA, Department of Work and Pensions is to use the tell us once service.

Sorting out finances after a death is important. There are various options for managing the deceased’s holdings, so we strongly recommend seeking professional advice on these choices.

This may involve:

• Selling the investments and distributing the proceeds
• Transferring the investments
• Directly settling an inheritance tax bill with HMRC
• Utilizing the Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allowance for ISAs. Please refer to our APS FAQ for more details.

These actions must be signed and agreed by all personal representatives.

See further practical tips on Handling finances below.

It’s important to inform pension providers of the death as soon as possible. They have their own requirements and may have support available if it’s needed.  

The information on this page is specific to our Self-Invested Personal Pension, so the process and requirements may vary for other types of pension. 

If you aren’t sure what pensions the deceased may have had, you can use the Pension Tracing Service to request contact details. 

If the deceased had an armed forces pension, contact Veterans UK. 

The deceased’s bank will need to be notified about the death as soon as possible. They’ll usually need the original death certificate to start their process.

The bank will have their own process and requirements. You’ll need to contact them as soon as possible to understand what they’ll need to release funds.

If the deceased was still employed at the time they died, their employer may have support in place, such as ‘death in service’ cover.

The next of kin or executors can contact the employer to notify them and find out about any support that may be available.

When someone dies, outstanding debts are usually paid off using their estate. These debts include things like rent, credit card balances and car loans. It’s important to find out about any debts early on since the estate must settle them in this order:

• Secured debts such as mortgage repayments
• Priority debts like income tax and council tax
• Unsecured debts such as credit cards and utility bills

It’s important the inform creditors of the death, and your involvement as a representative of the estate, to avoid any debts growing due to non-payment. The creditors will let you know if they have any further requirements. You can ask them if there is any support available to you.

If the deceased owned a property with a mortgage, it doesn’t automatically transfer to the surviving spouse or partner. The lender will need to assess if the spouse or partner can afford the mortgage payments.

You’ll need to:

• Identify the lender and contact them as soon as possible
• Check if there’s a life insurance policy connected to the mortgage
• Remember to inform the lender while the claim is being processed
• Check if the person was privately renting and notify the landlord – they may be able to transfer the lease to the spouse’s name
• Transfer utility bills such as gas, electricity, water, and council tax 

You can visit Citizens Advice for more information about this. 

Tax

HMRC will usually contact the executor within a month of death registration with instructions and may require a tax return for the person who has died. You can find further information on the government website. There may also be tax allowances to claim or transfer to a surviving partner. Depending on the size of the estate, Inheritance Tax (IHT) may also be due. We can make IHT payments from the deceased’s wrapper if needed. To do this, we need a completed IHT423 form signed by the executors named in the will, a certified copy of the will (certified on each page) and certified ID for the executors named in the will.

Find out more information on IHT here > 

Government benefits

If they were below State Pension age, their partner may be eligible for financial support from the government. The Bereavement Support Payment offers a lump sum followed by up to 18 monthly payments.

More information via the Government website >