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Editorial Policy

Help After Loss provides free bereavement guidance for people in the UK who have lost someone. We take both the accuracy and the sensitivity of our content seriously, because people read these pages at a very difficult time. This page explains how we research, write, and maintain our guides.

How we research content

Our guides are based on official government sources, established charities, and professional bodies. Primary sources include:

  • GOV.UK (death registration, probate, Tell Us Once, benefits)
  • HMRC (inheritance tax, capital gains tax, income tax after death)
  • DWP (Bereavement Support Payment, other benefits)
  • Office for National Statistics (death registration figures)
  • Individual bank and building society bereavement pages
  • Energy, telecoms, and water company bereavement processes
  • SunLife Cost of Dying Report (funeral cost data)
  • The Law Society (probate solicitor guidance)
  • Cruse Bereavement Support, Mind, and other mental health charities

We link to original sources wherever possible so you can verify information independently.

How we maintain accuracy

Bereavement-related information changes regularly. Probate fees, benefit amounts, tax thresholds, and organisational processes are all subject to change. We maintain accuracy through:

  • Reviewing financial figures against the current tax year
  • Re-checking organisation phone numbers, addresses and URLs against the organisation's own pages
  • Monitoring GOV.UK updates for policy and process changes
  • "Last reviewed" dates on our main guide pages, which we are working to extend across the site
  • A feedback mechanism for readers to report errors

We would rather be honest about this than promise a schedule we do not keep. Reviews happen when a source changes or when we find something wrong, not on a fixed calendar, and not every page carries a review date yet.

Last full review

In August 2026 we carried out a full accuracy review of our guidance on DVLA notification, passport cancellation and the Tell Us Once service, checking every process, address and deadline against GOV.UK. That review corrected several things, including the process for telling DVLA about a driving licence (a letter, not a form), the separate Swansea addresses used for licences, vehicles and refunds, and the deadline for using a Tell Us Once reference, which is 28 days from the day the reference number is issued.

In the same review we removed statistics we could not trace back to a named source. Where we quote a figure, we now say where it comes from.

What this site is not

Help After Loss is an information resource. It is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. We strongly recommend consulting a qualified professional for complex estate matters, tax questions, or mental health concerns.

We are not affiliated with any bank, solicitor, funeral director, or government department. When we recommend services or include links, we clearly disclose any affiliate or commercial relationships.

Jurisdiction

Our guides cover England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Where processes differ between nations (such as death registration, probate vs confirmation, or Tell Us Once availability), we flag these differences clearly. Each guide specifies which nations it covers.

Privacy and data

We do not collect or store personal information about the person who died or about your situation. Our personalised checklist tool saves data only to your device (localStorage). No bereavement data is sent to our servers. See our privacy policy for full details.

Report an error

If you find information that is outdated, incorrect, or unclear, please email contact@helpafterloss.co.uk. We investigate reported errors as quickly as we can, and we would much rather hear about a mistake than leave it on the page.