After Loss Guide publishes practical, factual guidance for bereaved people in the UK. Every page on this site is researched from primary sources and reviewed for accuracy before publication.
This page explains what we publish, how we research and verify it, what we don't do, and how we handle corrections and updates.
What this site publishes
We cover the practical processes that arise when someone dies in the UK: notifying companies and government departments, understanding funeral costs, navigating probate, claiming bereavement benefits, and planning ahead. Our content is aimed at bereaved people in England and Wales, with notes where Scottish or Northern Irish law differs materially.
We do not give legal advice, financial advice, or medical advice. We explain how processes work and point you to the right resources and authorities.
How we research and verify
Company bereavement guides
Each guide is researched directly from the company's own published bereavement or deceased customer page. Phone numbers are confirmed from the live source page at the time of writing. Processes are described as they work in practice, not as companies present them in marketing materials. Where a company's process is unclear or changes, we note this in the guide.
Funeral and cremation costs
Fees are sourced from each council or crematorium's own published fee schedule – typically a PDF or web page updated at the start of the financial year (1 April). Because fee schedules are often long multi-page documents covering cremation, burial and ancillary services together, every figure is checked individually against its source document by a member of our editorial team before it is published or updated – we do not publish a figure straight from an automated extraction without that check. We record the source URL and the date we last verified each figure. Fees are updated annually in April or when we become aware of a change mid-year. Where a figure cannot be confirmed against a live, published source, we remove it rather than leave an unverifiable number on the page.
Legal and financial content
Content on probate, inheritance tax, intestacy, and wills is sourced from GOV.UK, HMRC, and legislation.gov.uk. We link to the specific guidance page, not just the domain. Where official guidance is ambiguous or the rules are complex, we say so and direct readers to a qualified solicitor.
Benefit rates and eligibility
Bereavement benefit rates and eligibility criteria are verified against GOV.UK at the start of each tax year (April). If rates change mid-year, we update the relevant pages and flag the change. We do not quote benefit figures from secondary sources.
What we don't do
- We do not speculate on legal or financial matters. If the rules are clear, we state them with a source. If they are not, we say so.
- We do not make medical claims of any kind.
- We are not affiliated with any funeral director, insurer, solicitor, or probate provider. If we ever include a commercial relationship, we will disclose it clearly.
- We do not accept payment to influence editorial coverage.
Geographic scope
This site covers England and Wales. Where the law or process in Scotland or Northern Ireland differs materially – for example, on intestacy rules, confirmation (the Scottish equivalent of probate), or benefit eligibility – we note this in the relevant page.
Corrections
We take accuracy seriously. If you find an error, please report it via our contact form with the subject line "Correction: [page name]". See our correction policy for how we handle reports and what timescales to expect.
Content reviews and "last verified" dates
Every page shows a "last updated" or "last verified" date. This reflects the most recent date we reviewed the information against its primary source – not simply the date the page was last edited. Fee tables show a separate verification date for the underlying data.
We review legal and financial content annually as a minimum, and more frequently when we are aware of rule changes. Company bereavement process guides are reviewed when we receive a report of a change or when routine checks identify discrepancies.
This page was last reviewed 2026-06-16.