When someone dies, you must contact certain organisations to inform them as soon as possible. You need to:

• tell the tax office
• return the deceased person’s driving licence to the DVLA
• return their passport to the UK Passport Agency
• send any Lasting Power of Attorney or Enduring Power of Attorney they had back to the Office of the Public Guardian, along with a death certificate, if you were their attorney
• contact the DWP’s Tell Us Once service, which allows you to report a death to several
  government departments with just one phone call.

You may need to contact other organisations as well, such as:

• pension scheme provider
• insurance company
• bank and building society
• employer
• mortgage provider, housing association or council housing office
• social services
• utility companies
• GP, dentist, optician and anyone else providing medical care
• any charities, organisations or magazine subscriptions the deceased person made regular payments to.

You could also register the name and address of the deceased person with the Bereavement Register, which tries to put a stop to post being sent to people who have died.

Funerals do generally follow traditional religious practices ie. Catholic, Church of England, Methodist , Baptist, however, there is also the option of a secular service which would include poetry, music and an appreciation of the deceased’s life, and we are able to arrange a secular officiant for you.

No, a funeral service may take place within our chapel at Airedale House, within the chapel of a crematorium or within your own home. It is also not unusual, in the case of a burial, for a service to be carried out by an officiant at the graveside.

Yes, family members can carry the coffin as long it is safe to do so on the day. We will talk through this option with you if this is something you would like to consider and full guidance will be given on the day of the funeral.

Many factors determine the cost of a funeral ie. the style of funeral, choice of coffin, number of limousines etc. We will advise you of all our options and packages. We will provide you with an itemised estimate of our charges and the disbursements that we will pay on your behalf. We want you to feel that you are in control of the amount that you will outlay for the cost of the funeral and arrange a fitting tribute that is within your financial reach.

Following the funeral arrangements being discussed, a full estimate will be provided and confirmation of the arrangements will be made on the receipt of the cost of the disbursements (ie. clergy, cemetery/crematorium fee, floral tributes, press notices) 48 hours prior to the date of committal. If you choose to pay both our charges and disbursements prior to that time, you may deduct £50.00 from the final balance, if not, the final account will be forwarded to you one week following the funeral date and full payment is requested within 21 days of the date of the invoice.

Full payment of the charges on some packages will be requested 48 hours prior to the date of the committal and we will advise you of this. Our preferred method of payment is by BACS (bank transfer)