Estate Planning Tips: 17 Ways to Secure Assets & Cut UK Tax
Estate planning can feel like an admin chore you put off until ‘someday’, yet every year HMRC collects millions from families who assumed their affairs were simple. By following the 17 practical tips below, you can ring-fence hard-earned savings, cut Inheritance Tax under the 2025/26 rules and spare loved ones months of paperwork. Whether your […]
Where to Scatter Ashes UK: 12 Meaningful Places & Key Rules
Yes, you can scatter ashes almost anywhere in the UK provided you have the land-owner’s permission and follow simple environmental guidelines. That simple truth gives families the freedom to choose a spot that carries real meaning—whether that is a riverside fishing peg, the centre circle at a beloved football ground, or a quiet corner of […]
How to Register a Death in the UK: Key Steps & Costs
You must register a death in the UK within five calendar days—eight if the death occurred in Scotland—at a local register office. The appointment costs nothing, although each certified copy of the death certificate is £11 in England and Wales, £10 in Scotland, or £8 in Northern Ireland (2025 rates). Acting promptly keeps funeral plans […]
What Happens During Cremation: Step-by-Step UK Guide & FAQs
Cremation is a controlled process where, by UK law, the sealed coffin holding the person is placed alone in a cremator heated to around 900 °C; after 90–120 minutes only dry bone fragments remain, which are then cooled, refined to a fine ash and returned to the family. Strict identity checks, temperature controls and environmental […]
How Does Cremation Work? The Complete Step-By-Step Process
Cremation is, at heart, a controlled, high-temperature process that reduces a coffin and its occupant to sterile bone fragments, which are then refined into the fine, grey powder we call ashes. From the moment the hearse reaches the crematorium to the point the sealed ashes container is ready for collection, the entire procedure usually lasts […]
10 Best Prepaid Cremation Plans UK: Compare Costs & Reviews
Guidance on Prepaid Funeral Plans This article provides guidance on prepaid funeral plans so that you can understand how they work, what they cost, and how to compare providers. At Go Direct Cremations, however, we want to be absolutely clear: we do not sell prepaid funeral plans. Why? Because we believe prepaid plans are often […]