When a loved one dies there is more than just the funeral to arrange. There is a great deal of ‘death admin’ that needs to be dealt with. Where the death is expected it may be that the person had time to settle their affairs, and to pass relevant accounts over to loved ones making the process a little simpler. But, when the death is unexpected, or pre-arrangements have not been made this can result in loved ones needing to contact many different organisations to close accounts and put the deceased’s affairs into order. Life Ledger is a free service, that can help to simplify this process.
Death Admin
As it is termed ‘death admin’ involves informing relevant organisations that the person has died, having accounts closed, monies moved, and any debts settled. Traditionally this involves contacting each company separately, explaining that the death has occurred and then individually following each organisations procedure, which may involve completing forms and sending either the official or a copy of the death certificate.
Organisations that may need to be contacted include:
- Banks & Building Societies
- Telephone, Broadband, Television & Mobile Services
- Water Companies
- Gas & Electricity Suppliers
- Credit, Store & Loyalty Cards
- House, Life, Car & Pet Insurance
- Pension Providers
- TV Licensing
- Streaming and Subscription Services
- Social Media & Online Accounts
With so many businesses to contact, death admin can be a daunting, and distressing task. Particularly in the case of an unexpected death, having to explain repeatedly that the death has occurred is upsetting for the deceased’s family. Utilising the service of Life Ledger streamlines this process and removes the necessity of having to make the same explanation repeatedly.
What is Life Ledger?
Life Ledger is a free service that has been set up to help take the hassle out of death admin. It is a one-stop online platform that allows you to provide all the information about the companies that the deceased had accounts with. Life Ledger will then inform the organisations of the death on your behalf and can instigate the freezing, settling and closure, or transfer of accounts where applicable. All information regarding the process of each account is located within a single platform that can be accessed by the whole family, meaning that everyone can be involved and kept informed.
Process of Using Life Ledger
Using Life Ledger is simple, and you can get started by visiting their website. You can create an account online at any time, and simply need the full name, date of birth, date of death, and address of the deceased. To send out notifications to the relevant organisations you will be required to upload a death certificate. You will also need to know which organisations the deceased had an account with, and as much information as possible including account numbers to ensure the process is quick and easy.
Life Ledger is not only free to use, but may also help you to reduce the cost of death admin. Many organisations ask for the official death certificate and will not accept a copy. The cost of ordering duplicate certificates as well as postage costs to send them to each company can make death admin costly. By uploading the certificate to the Life Ledger platform, it is a one-time-only task, this uploaded certificate is sent over to all your chosen organisations, along with the other information that you have provided.
More About Life Ledger
Founded in 2020, Life Ledger is an up-and-coming business, that has a lot to offer within the funeral industry. Born out of frustration when one of the founders found themselves in the situation of having to deal with death admin, this platform has been designed to prevent others dealing with the distress of contact many organisations and following time-consuming processes.
You may be wondering if Life Ledger is a legitimate service if it is free to use. Life Ledger charges the organisation a fee for providing the information. Receiving an online notification with all the necessary information is a more cost effective, and admin efficient way of dealing with the accounts of the deceased. Steve, a highly regarded funeral Celebrant, is keen to promote the use of Life Ledger to families that he works with as a simple way to deal with death admin.
You can find out more about Life Ledger on their website, where they have a comprehensive FAQ’s section. There is also a contact form and online chat if you can’t find an answer to your question.