I think I might have been a bit naive. I thought it would be a simple process😞
I had to provide,
Death certificate
Proof of joint living, I used council tax bill and mortgage
Proof of joint spending as in joint bank account
I was married before, so decree absolute from divorce
A letter stating what our current situation was when he died (ffs)
Each time they didn’t have something, they wrote me a letter, which delayed everything. I emailed them everything to speed things up.
I constantly rang them as well as my mortgage had only been frozen for 3 months and I didn’t have the money to pay it, so needed it all sorted before it was due.
The joint living and spending had to include both our names. Was a pain as everything went online to my partner or to his banking app so trying to get the info while balling and trying to stay alive was shit
Oh no. He’s been taken off the council tax bill when I used the tell us once service and I’ve thrown the letter away.
Our joint bank account is also now just in my name after I informed the bank of his passing.
I hope I don’t run in to too much bother with it all because I don’t think I’ll be able to stay calm. This is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life. I don’t need the extra agro 
In my mind he payed into that pension since he first started working and he named me as beneficiary. Why should I have to provide them with anything? I’m sure I could speak to the bank and council but why should I have to?
@LostLil it’s just extra hassle that you really don’t need at this time. Some company’s handle it really well and others are just useless. I didn’t have a problem with my husband’s pension but we were married so don’t know if that simplifies it. Hopefully your partners pension company are ok to deal with 
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@LostLil I really do think it’s awful what people are put through! It shouldn’t matter if you were married or not! I’ve read many posts of people being left with nothing after losing their partners.
I do think there should be a change in the law, to safeguard anyone who finds themselves in this horrific situation. Yes, I was married, but that shouldn’t matter, especially in 2023!
I personally know lots of couples who are very happy together but don’t want to marry, nothing wrong with that at all. Hoping everything goes well with you and it’s sorted without any hassle.
Hugs
Dottie x🌹
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Ah I’ve just found a council tax demand notice in both our names for the financial year 23/24. It arrived two days after he died so at least that’s one thing I can provide now. Our joint bank account is now soley in my name but I’m sure if I speak to the bank they can provide something to confirm it was a joint account until recently. Annoyingly I’ve looked through the statements in my banking app and even the statements from the months before he died are soley in my name now. I had actually thought that the statements online before I notified them of his death would still be in both our names. They do however show that we both put equal amounts of money in the account every month and it shows that only household bills went out of that account. It’s still ridiculous though. It was his money fgs. He worked bloody hard, always did. He deserved to retire and enjoy his retirement. I’m absolutely devastated that he didn’t get to do that. I really don’t think I’ll have the patience to deal with any aggro off them.
I’m getting myself worked up at the minute and for all I know it might be ok so I should probably just wait and see what happens before stressing about it.
Thank you @Ali29 for the information at least now I’ve got what I need so I don’t throw it away before they have the chance to ask for it 
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@LostLil Im sure your bank will be able to provide details of your joint account. Goodness, awful you have to go through all of this, I found the whole thing very overwhelming, even though I was married, I still had lots of hassle…
Big hugs
Dottie x💕
I know, overwhelming is the right word.
I think I’ll text the guy from the investment company tomorrow to make sure he’s received the death certificate and go from there. No point worrying until I know there’s something to worry about I guess.
I’ve looked through his pension booklet and it does say on there in the event of death 100% of his pension pot would be paid to the beneficiaries so I’m hoping it will all be OK 
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@LostLil I told my council my wife had died. They sent condolences but did not adjust my Council Tax. After a while I phoned and asked why it hadn’t been adjusted, I found out then that I had to apply for the reduction on a separate form. No one had told me this.
You’re welcome. The bank will provide you with joint statements if you ask but it took 5 days for them to send them to me so be aware of that. You may find you don’t need any of it. Different pensions people do different things.
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@mike75 did you get a reduction? I was told I couldn’t have it as two over 18s live in the house with me.
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Oh fgs, how stupid! I went to the registrars office with my partners family to register his death and they did it all using the tell us once service so a few days later I had a letter saying I had a 25% discount on my council tax.
@Mike75 Can I ask, is Council Tax the same as Rates? In NI we pay Rates, I’ve had to pay the full amount, no mention of any reduction…
Big hugs
Dottie 
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@Ali29 Yes but because my son and his wife are currently considered to be guests and temporary residents here, they are not permanent residents (yet), and I am the only adult permanent resident. They are still registered as permanent residents at their flat as they pay council tax on it and are registered to vote there. I explained this to the council, provided the proof and they accepted it. Obviously if they decide to sell or let the flat and stay here then that will change and I’ll pay full Council Tax again. Hope this helps.
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@Dottie72 Council tax replaced rates in the rest of the UK so probably.
Makes perfect sense. Thanks
Yes, so I’ve had to pay the full amount of Rates, I’m not entitled to any reduction. My rates are just over £2K per year. It must be different between England and Northern Ireland.
I had a look online; you have to be in receipt of various benefits in NI, which I’m not as I work full-time.
x
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@Dottie72 It may be that local property taxes are a delegated function to the Northern Ireland Assembly. You could check with your local member and ask them to look at putting this in line with England and Wales. Don’t know about Scotland, might be delegated there as well.
Hugs xxx
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@Mike75 thanks for the advice, yes I will look into that, but judging by our “Government “ here in NI, it will probably never happen! They don’t even “sit” in Stormont!! It’s really unfair as I’ve gone from 2 salaries to one. My Martin worked in IT, but was self employed, I can’t continue with his business, I wouldn’t have a clue.
Big hugs
Dottie x💕
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