Bereavement First-Week Brief
The institutional first-week document for the family of the recently deceased.
What this brief is
Sequencing the first seven days after a death — registration, Tell Us Once, funeral director appointment, banks, employer, the Direct Debit Trap, what not to do. Written for the family member who's been asked to handle it.
How this brief is read
Read the sample on this page, using the Pemberton-Walsh household throughout.
Open a free account and the brief becomes editable with your own data — your records, your trusted persons, your professional advisers.
Household Continuity Dossier membership (£195 first year, then £99/year) holds the record on the register, prompts the annual review, and issues the Governance Letter when a circumstance changes.
From the brief
What follows is a quiet institutional companion for the next seven days. It exists because the period after a death asks a household to make small practical decisions at the worst possible time. The structure below is not a checklist. It is a record of what other households have found useful, sequenced by when each step actually becomes necessary. Skip what does not apply. Pause where you need to. Most of this can wait.
You do not have to do this alone. Funeral directors handle most first-week practicalities. A close friend or relative can help with calls. Your GP can be contacted if you need rest medication or someone to talk to. There is no medal for doing this by yourself.
Day one and two — the only things that need attention
In the first 48 hours, only two practical things are time-sensitive. Everything else can wait.
What can wait: The will, probate, the bank, insurance, pensions, utilities, council tax. None of these need attention in the first 48 hours. They wait. Properly.
Day three to five — registration and first decisions
Once the medical certificate is in hand, the death needs to be registered with the local register office. The funeral director will guide the timing.
The full brief continues — personalised with your household's details.