Managing your finances after your partner dies

It’s likely that your household income changed or possibly even dropped when your partner died.

But there are things you can do to make sure that you can take over the finances and keep paying the bills and living within a changed budget.

If your late partner took care of the bills, it’s important that you quickly take over this job. Otherwise, you might find yourself faced with high late payment fees, or even debt collection for missed payments.

To get on top of the household bills:

• gather all the bills, making a note of when they need to be paid and how much is due.
• check your bank account(s) to see if you have enough money to cover these bills.

Bills that are:

• paid from your joint account will continue as normal – if you decide to keep the joint account
• paid from your partner’s individual account might not get paid, as the account will likely be frozen once the bank is aware of the account holder’s death. You’ll need to contact the companies to change the payment details so that it’s taken from your account instead.

You’ll also need to change any bills that were solely in your partner’s name to your name.

You might also want to change any bills that were in both names, to just your name later on.

If you think you’re going to struggle to keep up with the bills, there’s help and advice you can get to deal with this. 

If you had a joint bank account with your partner, you can continue to still use it as normal.

You just need to tell the bank or building society that your partner has died, so that they can amend the account details.

But you might want to consider changing it at some point into an individual account in your name.

This should make it easier to manage your money and see whether you have enough every month to pay the bills.

With a list of your household outgoings, you have the first part of putting together a budget that fits with your new financial situation.

Next, you need to add up all your regular income. This might come from benefits, a pension, wages or even savings.

If you end up with income left over after you’ve paid the bills, you might want to consider saving to build an emergency fund.

But if you have more money going out than coming in, there are some things that you can do to reduce your outgoings.

If you’re facing a drop in income after your partner dies, you might be able to claim Universal Credit. This will top up your income and help with things like housing costs or bringing up children.

Use our Benefits Calculator to quickly find out what support you could be entitled to.

If you live in Northern Ireland, find out more about what benefits and financial support you might be entitled to

(Opens in a new window) on the nidirect website.

Depending on your relationship with the person who died, you might be able to qualify for bereavement benefits and other help.

If your partner had credit or store cards, a personal loan or a hire purchase agreement in their name, these could still have an outstanding balance.

So it’s important to deal with them as soon as you can. This includes your mortgage.

Start by putting together a full list of these debts, and how much is still owed on each.

This will help you prioritise the debts so you can start to deal with them.

The first step is to speak to the mortgage lender to let them know that your partner has died.

They can then help you work out your mortgage options.

Normally, the mortgage is one of the first debts that’s paid out of the estate. Or from life or mortgage payment protection insurance that your partner might have bought when the mortgage was taken out.

But if there isn’t enough money to cover this debt, you have a couple of options.

One of the options is taking out a mortgage in your name.

It’s worth considering this if you think you can afford the repayments on your own.

Unfortunately, you can’t simply ‘transfer’ the mortgage into your name, even if you had a joint mortgage with your partner.

You’d have to go through a review process as though it’s a fresh mortgage application.

You’ll need to provide evidence of your current finances to the mortgage lender.

They’ll assess this and your ability to keep up with repayments.

If you’re not approved for a mortgage and you’re unable to pay it back in full, you might have to face the option of having to sell your home to clear this debt.

If you’re considering selling your home, read our guide Selling a house or flat.

There’s some government help if you find yourself struggling to make your mortgage repayments.

If any of the household insurance policies are in your partner’s name, it’s important to check them.

It's important to pay special attention to:

• car insurance
• home insurance
• life and protection insurance.

Most policies terminate on the death of the main policyholder.

If this applies to you, it means you’re unprotected should anything happen.

If you’re a named driver on the car insurance policy, you need to check with the insurers if you’re still covered.

If not, you’ll need to get a new policy. Most policies terminate on the death of the main policy holder, and this will leave you uninsured.

You don’t have to use the same company. Shop around to find one that gives you the best deal.

Be aware that need to the car insurance if you want to continue driving a car. You run the risk of a large fine, or worse, if you drive without any insurance.

You need to let your home insurance provider know that your circumstances have changed.

Depending on how your partner’s estate was distributed, you might have inherited more, or even less, after their death.

This will affect how much cover you need and also how much you pay for your home insurance.

You could also take this opportunity to shop around for a new home insurance deal that better suits your new circumstances.

If you have joint life insurance or your own insurance, you need to contact the provider to update your policy.

You might need to change the beneficiaries of the policy, or even change the amount of cover it gives.

If you don’t have life insurance, this is a good time to start looking into getting one.

It’s important to have some life insurance to protect anyone dependent on you, should anything happen.

You might also want to consider taking out more protection insurance, such as income protection or illness cover.

When you’ve got into a regular routine of managing the household finances, it’s important to start thinking about making financial plans for your future.

It might take you a while to feel ready to face the future without your partner, so there’s no need to rush planning your financial future.