Losing someone close to you can be devastating. If you have been looking after that person, the loss can feel even harder and change a huge part of your life. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, and death can be a very different experience for each person. But it’s important to remember you are not alone, and to seek help and reach out if you need it.
We offer resource pages on where to get help, life after caring and when the person you look after moves into a care home.
- www.carersupportdorset.co.uk/information-hub/bereavement-and-loss-where-to-get-help
- www.carersupportdorset.co.uk/information-hub/bereavement-and-loss-life-after-caring
- www.carersupportdorset.co.uk/information-hub/when-the-person-you-look-after-moves-into-a-care-home
Practical advice after someone dies
There can be lots to think about and sort out when someone dies, and this can be hard if you’re on your own or are unsure where to start.
Registering the death
A death must be registered within five days, but you do not have to register the death yourself. Deaths are registered at a local registry office. Bereavement Advice – www.bereavementadvice.org – has great advice and information around:
- Registering a death – www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/registering-a-death-and-informing-others
- Death certificates – www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/death-certificate-and-coroners-inquest
- Legal procedures – www.bereavementadvice.org/topics/probate-and-legal
Arranging the funeral
Funerals allow families and friends of your loved one to grieve together, and find comfort in the send off of your loved one. Dorothy House has useful advice around planning a funeral, paying for a funeral and payment options and more – www.dorothyhouse.org.uk/patients-carers-families/carers/funerals
Wills
Your loved one may have told you about a will but you are unsure of where it is. Citizens Advice has information on how to deal with the finances of someone who has died – www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/dealing-with-the-financial-affairs-of-someone-who-has-died
They also give advice around the steps to take to find your loved one’s will – www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/wills/#h-looking-for-copies-of-a-will-after-someone-dies
Benefits
If you were receiving Carers Allowance when the person you cared for died, this will usually continue for eight weeks from the Sunday following their death. If you were 65 or over and entitled to Invalid Care Allowance (as Carers Allowance was then called) on 27 October 2002, you will be entitled to Carer’s Allowance indefinitely. Find more information on what you may be entitled to on the government’s website, including information around bereavement support payments – www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/bereavement
Housing
For advice about housing situations after someone has died, Shelter has information and a helpline you can call to discuss any queries or worries you might have – https://england.shelter.org.uk
Other resources or organisations that may be able to help you:
- Cruse Bereavement Support – www.cruse.org.uk
- Age UK – www.ageuk.org.uk
- Marie Curie – www.mariecurie.org.uk
- Macmillan – www.macmillan.org.uk
- At A Loss – www.ataloss.org
- Child Bereavement UK – www.childbereavementuk.org
- The Compassionate Friends – www.tcf.org.uk
- DrugFam – www.drugfam.co.uk
- WAY – www.widowedandyoung.org.uk
- Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – www.uksobs.org
You can also have a look at the blog and resource centre on our website – www.carersupportdorset.co.uk/information-hub/?per_page=18
GriefCast, a podcast sharing stories of loss and grief – https://play.acast.com/s/griefcast
The Blurt Foundation, an uplifting resources and blogs on depression – www.blurtitout.org
Remember you are not alone. We are here for you.
Call us on 0800 368 8349 or email us at admin@carersupportdorset.co.uk
