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Practical Help
- Pre-Death PlanningGetting prepared ahead of time when expecting a loss.
  - Estate PlanningHow to prepare and distribute left assets.
  - Will Writing ServicesThe importance of writing will and a review of the Will writing options.
  - Trust FundsInformation on various types of trust funds that can be set up.
  - Lasting Power of Attorney: What is It and How to Set Up an LPAA step-by-step guide on how to appoint an LPA and the importance of doing so.
  - Finding a Suitable Funeral DirectorGet help organising and planning a funeral.
  - Covering Funeral CostsGet help for funeral arrangement costs.
- Legal SupportUnderstand your legal obligations around bereavement.
  - Laws of IntestacyDetermines who is entitled to inheritance by law.
  - Making Changes to InheritanceChanging how inheritance is distributed at this stage requires a Deed of Variation
  - Bona VacantiaWhen there is no living blood relatives, ownerless assets default to the crown.
  - Debts after DeathWhat happens to debts after someone dies.
  - Inheriting DebtThe circumstances where someone may inherit the debts of the deceased.
- Probate SupportHelp with probate and inheritance.
  - Getting Help with ProbateHelp for those unclear on the probate process.
  - Grant of ProbateHow to get a grant of probate and when you need one.
  - Probate in Northern IrelandAdvice for Northern Ireland residents needing help with probate.
  - Probate in Scotland (Confirmation)Advice for Scotland residents needing help with probate, known as ‘Confirmation’.
  - Inheritance TaxWhen and how to pay inheritance tax.
  - DIY ProbateHow and when to carry out probate by yourself.
  - Executor of Will DutiesList of duties required by the distributor of the deceased’s estate.
  - Find Unclaimed Assets of a Deceased PersonHelp for finding unclaimed assets left in wills or from dying intestate.
  - Selling a Probate PropertyAdvice on the process of selling a property in probate.
  - Probate FeesGuidance and advice on the fee costs you may incur in during the probate process.
  - Contentious ProbateAdvice on problems and disagreements that can arise during probate.
  - Deed of VariationChange details about how inheritance is distributed.
- Practical Tasks after a DeathThings to do after someone dies.
  - Death RegistrationWho to contact to register a death.
  - Finding a Funeral DirectorGet help finding a suitable director to arrange a funeral.
  - Covering Funeral CostsGet help paying for a funeral.
  - Paying Inheritance TaxHelp on when and how to pay inheritance tax.
  - Benefits CalculatorFree assessment of benefits you may be entitled to.
  - Stopping Junk MailHow to reduce mail and correspondence to the address of a deceased person.
  - When Coroner is InvolvedAn explanation of the coroner’s process and their involvement.
- Getting Practical & Legal HelpSpeak to someone about the practical or legal aspects of bereavement.
Emotional Help
- GriefNavigating and managing the experience of grief.
  - Managing GriefGet ideas on managing the experience of grief.
  - Traumatic BereavementHelp for managing a traumatic bereavement or PTSD associated with bereavement.
- Specific RelationshipsSupporting grief for relationships and partnerships.
- Supporting OthersHelping others through their bereavement.
  - Supporting ChildrenGet help for explaining the loss of a grandparent or elderly relative to a young child.
  - Supporting EmployeesHelp for employers on how to support employees through bereavement.
- Sharing the NewsHelp with communicating bereavement.
  - Social Media MemorialisationHow to create memorialised social media accounts.
  - Explaining to Young Children
- Getting Help & CounsellingUseful organisations for emotional wellbeing and mental health support.
Quick Guides
Workplace & Training
About NBS
- About NBS
- Donate
- News
- Research
Contact NBS

Practical Help
- Pre-Death PlanningGetting prepared ahead of time when expecting a loss.
  - Estate PlanningHow to prepare and distribute left assets.
  - Will Writing ServicesThe importance of writing will and a review of the Will writing options.
  - Trust FundsInformation on various types of trust funds that can be set up.
  - Lasting Power of Attorney: What is It and How to Set Up an LPAA step-by-step guide on how to appoint an LPA and the importance of doing so.
  - Finding a Suitable Funeral DirectorGet help organising and planning a funeral.
  - Covering Funeral CostsGet help for funeral arrangement costs.
- Legal SupportUnderstand your legal obligations around bereavement.
  - Laws of IntestacyDetermines who is entitled to inheritance by law.
  - Making Changes to InheritanceChanging how inheritance is distributed at this stage requires a Deed of Variation
  - Bona VacantiaWhen there is no living blood relatives, ownerless assets default to the crown.
  - Debts after DeathWhat happens to debts after someone dies.
  - Inheriting DebtThe circumstances where someone may inherit the debts of the deceased.
- Probate SupportHelp with probate and inheritance.
  - Getting Help with ProbateHelp for those unclear on the probate process.
  - Grant of ProbateHow to get a grant of probate and when you need one.
  - Probate in Northern IrelandAdvice for Northern Ireland residents needing help with probate.
  - Probate in Scotland (Confirmation)Advice for Scotland residents needing help with probate, known as ‘Confirmation’.
  - Inheritance TaxWhen and how to pay inheritance tax.
  - DIY ProbateHow and when to carry out probate by yourself.
  - Executor of Will DutiesList of duties required by the distributor of the deceased’s estate.
  - Find Unclaimed Assets of a Deceased PersonHelp for finding unclaimed assets left in wills or from dying intestate.
  - Selling a Probate PropertyAdvice on the process of selling a property in probate.
  - Probate FeesGuidance and advice on the fee costs you may incur in during the probate process.
  - Contentious ProbateAdvice on problems and disagreements that can arise during probate.
  - Deed of VariationChange details about how inheritance is distributed.
- Practical Tasks after a DeathThings to do after someone dies.
  - Death RegistrationWho to contact to register a death.
  - Finding a Funeral DirectorGet help finding a suitable director to arrange a funeral.
  - Covering Funeral CostsGet help paying for a funeral.
  - Paying Inheritance TaxHelp on when and how to pay inheritance tax.
  - Benefits CalculatorFree assessment of benefits you may be entitled to.
  - Stopping Junk MailHow to reduce mail and correspondence to the address of a deceased person.
  - When Coroner is InvolvedAn explanation of the coroner’s process and their involvement.
- Getting Practical & Legal HelpSpeak to someone about the practical or legal aspects of bereavement.
Emotional Help
- GriefNavigating and managing the experience of grief.
  - Managing GriefGet ideas on managing the experience of grief.
  - Traumatic BereavementHelp for managing a traumatic bereavement or PTSD associated with bereavement.
- Specific RelationshipsSupporting grief for relationships and partnerships.
- Supporting OthersHelping others through their bereavement.
  - Supporting ChildrenGet help for explaining the loss of a grandparent or elderly relative to a young child.
  - Supporting EmployeesHelp for employers on how to support employees through bereavement.
- Sharing the NewsHelp with communicating bereavement.
  - Social Media MemorialisationHow to create memorialised social media accounts.
  - Explaining to Young Children
- Getting Help & CounsellingUseful organisations for emotional wellbeing and mental health support.
Quick Guides
Workplace & Training
About NBS
- About NBS
- Donate
- News
- Research
Contact NBS

Bereavement Training Testimonials and Case Studies

Arbuthnot Latham Bank

The Financial Conduct Authority has identified bereavement as a potential source of financial vulnerability and the bank approached National Bereavement Service (NBS) to provide relevant training in this area.

Goals:

To enable bank staff to understand the context in which bereaved clients or the relatives of clients who have died make contact with the bank
To help staff understand why this group may be financially vulnerable
To enhance their skills in appropriate communication with bereaved people

Training Delivered: 2 remote online sessions. 1st delivered to 12 Vulnerable Client Champions and 2nd to over 100 staff.

Testimonial: “The training was excellent, equipping staff with the knowledge needed not only to support our clients and executors but also their family and friends.” – Dianne Bevan – Business Support Manager

How will the company use the training moving forward?

Improving customer experience by:

• Enhanced communication with bank staff who will be appropriately empathetic and understanding of their needs, within the financial business-client context.
• Enabling staff to identify clients who may be vulnerable and who can be offered appropriate assistance.
• To enable staff to signpost clients to additional sources of support when appropriate.

Improve staff experience by:

• Increased morale through more satisfying conversations helping address clients feelings and needs around the subject.
• To be able to signpost clients to additional sources of support when such needs are identified.
• Training that meets current identified regulatory needs.

Pinsent Masons

Team members currently deal with a caseload of 20-30 a month. Providing a service to bereaved people not only requires high levels of emotional intelligence, active listening and empathy but also can take a toll on the professionals providing the service. There is a risk of both vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue as well as the triggering of highly emotive memories for team members. Self-care is an essential part of their tool kit.

Goals:

Remind Trustee Solutions Ltd team members of the practical aspects of bereavement which form the context for their conversations with bereaved family members.
To understand why the Financial Conduct Authority regards bereaved people as vulnerable.
To increase understanding of the emotional/psychological impact of bereavement.
To enhance communication skills with bereaved people.

Training Delivered: Remote online sessions. Delivered to 15 employees.

Testimonial:

“The training provided by the National Bereavement Service was tailored to the work we do with our clients. We appreciated the call before the training to understand how we work and what we were looking for. The training itself was delivered well and allowed ample time for questions.

The information provided was affirming in terms of our current processes with some food for thought on how we can make improvements. We would recommend the training to corporate organisations who deal directly with bereaved individuals.” – Christina Bowyer – Partner, Head of Pinsent Masons Pensions Services

How will the company use the training moving forward?

Improving customer experience by:

• Enhanced communication with the team who will be appropriately empathetic and understanding of their needs, within the financial business-client context.
• Enabling staff to identify clients who may be vulnerable and who can be offered appropriate assistance or signposting.
• To enable staff to signpost clients to additional sources of support when appropriate.

Aegon

It has been identified that some team members lack the confidence and skills to communicate directly with clients in these difficult life circumstances, so transactions become unnecessarily protracted using correspondence rather than phone calls. This adds administrative burden to the client and may delay the release of much needed funds. The 51 strong team comprises people of a wide variety of ages and life experiences.

Goals:

Training to be provided to enable the Special Care Team to have the confidence to make and receive phone calls with bereaved clients concerning their financial products.

Training Delivered: 2 half day on site sessions at Edinburgh HQ. Delivered to 24 employees.

Testimonial:

“Aegon contacted the National Bereavement Service to enquire about their specialist bereavement training. We were interested to learn how it could supplement our existing bereavement and vulnerable customer training.

The team at National Bereavement Service were proactive, engaging and clearly proud of the work they do to support organisations and the public.

Anne Wadey and her colleague Zoe delivered a workshop for us on ‘communicating with bereaved people’ in September. The workshop was well designed and well delivered, but what made it extra special was Anne’s unique and impressive storytelling. This is testament to Anne’s long career spent working with bereaved people. Anne and Zoe were professional and personable, making them a joy to work with.

The training was informative and enjoyable and I’m confident it will add great value to our organisation and workforce. Thanks again to the National Bereavement Service team.” – Lisa Barwood – Aegon Learning and Development Consultant

How will the company use the training moving forward?

Improving customer experience by:

• Simplifying the process of accessing their assets.
• Enabling current ‘snail mail’ communications to be converted into speedier telephone conversations.
• Enhancing the quality of telephone conversations between the Special Care Team and Aegon customers, with the empathy appropriate to a business-client transaction.
• Confidently signposting customers to additional sources of support when appropriate.

Improve Special Care Team experience by:

• Increased efficiency in processing bereaved clients’ claims, leading to improved KPIs.
• Signposting clients to additional sources of support when such needs are identified.
• Increased morale through satisfying conversations with clients aligning with Aegon’s mission statement.
• Training that meets current needs.
• Enhanced skills and confidence leading to greater staff retention and happier customers who may refer.

Gallery

University of Leicester

The University of Leicester Student Recruitment and Outreach team are responsible for assisting students as they transition into Higher Education. The twenty strong team have experienced a variety of bereavements over the last year and a training need has been identified both within the team, and potentially within the university as a whole. Group training is sought, particularly around emotional understanding, communication and open discussions. The learning outcomes should therefore enable team members to feel comfortable and confident in their interactions with bereaved colleagues, and enable positive, supportive group conversations.

Goals:

To provide the UK Student Recruitment and Outreach team with greater knowledge and understanding of how best to directly communicate with and support bereaved colleagues.

Training Delivered: 1 half day on site session at the University of Leicester.

Testimonial:

“The training we received from Zoe at the National Bereavement Service was absolutely fantastic. From putting together a very thorough proposal that clearly met the needs of the team identified in advance to delivering an expertly-handled, interactive session, we couldn’t have asked for a better approach to a really sensitive topic. We would totally recommend any organisation and team taking part in training from the NBS to enhance the support provided for employees and line managers.” – Elliot Newstead – Head of UK Student Recruitment and Outreach

How will the company use the training moving forward?

Improving team members knowledge, confidence, and skills by:

• Providing them with an awareness of the practical and emotional grief journey that a bereaved person will experience.
• Enhancing the quality of conversations between the line managers and team members and those bereaved people with the empathy, compassion, and care appropriate to this relationship.
• Confidently signposting bereaved people to additional sources of support should such needs be identified by increased efficiency in answering and helping the bereaved people with their questions.
• Improved staff morale through supportive conversations with bereaved colleagues.
• Training that meets current needs as identified by management.
• Enhancing skills and confidence leading to greater staff retention and happier interactions between team members and their line managers.
• Awareness of the other support available to them and bereaved people from the National Bereavement Service* as training providers to whom they can signpost where needed.

Gallery

Powys Teaching Health Board

The Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Powys county. They are responsible for developing and carrying out integrated healthcare strategies including the training and teaching of staff. As part of their ongoing strategy to improve commissioned services, PTHB identified a need to build the confidence of healthcare staff to support bereaved people, both emotionally and practically. The NBS was approached to help develop training that supported the process of meeting the standards of bereavement care and use of language and literature across all PHTB’s commissioned services, working towards the Welsh Government’s vision and framework.

Goals:

To build confidence and equip both teams with the tools to:
- Have better conversations; building confidence for the teams in how they initiate difficult conversations and support bereaved people experiencing the emotions of grief whilst taking care of themselves (anticipatory and those who are bereaved)
- Gain an understanding of the administrative steps that need to be taken when someone has died
- Support the process of meeting the standards of bereavement care and use of language and literature across all PHTB’s commissioned services.

Training Delivered: 3 x 4-hour face to face sessions to 20 attendees per session.

Testimonial:

“The training has been very well received and has created a great deal of discussion about this really important subject.

PTHB is at the start of its journey to set up a bereavement service and the National Bereavement Service training has provided us with a strong foundation on which to build, with our newly in post Bereavement Clinical Lead. I hope that you also enjoyed spending time with our staff.”

– Heidi Sinclair – Head of Quality and Safety

How will the company use the training moving forward?

Improving client experience by:

• Interacting with staff who have a better grasp of how to have good conversations with bereaved people
• Being better supported by the staff with an improved understanding of the practical and emotional issues they face during bereavement
• Being signposted to NBS and PHTB’s social services where needed for additional support and advice on matters where the Healthcare and Management do not have the appropriate knowledge and training
• Continuing care of patients and families within the community.

Improve Powys Healthcare Team experience by:

Enhancing the quality of conversations between staff and the bereaved family with the empathy, compassion, and care appropriate to this relationship
Improving overall morale through staff knowing they are having empathetic conversations, aligned with the PHTBs strategy which aims to support people to Start Well, Live Well, Age Well.
Increasing awareness of strategies and tools to use when handling difficult conversations and interactions with those experiencing anticipatory grief and those who are bereaved
Improving engagement amongst staff members through supportive relationships with managers
Developing more confident managers who have the knowledge and resources to meet the needs of bereaved team members
Confidently signposting clients to additional sources of support should such needs be identified, including to the NBS *
Being signposted to NBS where needed for additional support and advice on matters where the team do not have the appropriate knowledge and training
Providing training that meets current needs as identified by the PHTB.