Death

If someone close to you dies, and you’re not sure what to do, the Scottish Government produced a downloadable leaflet (pdf) called 'What To Do After A Death In Scotland', which gives you all the information you need about the steps you have to take. To download Adobe reader so you can view pdfs go to the Adobe website.

If you are struggling to cope with your loss, Cruse Bereavement Care provides a free counselling service – you can find the contact details for your local branch on the Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland website.

Inheritance & Succession

It is very important to make sure that you make a will. Although you might think you’re too young, if you don’t have one, the law will decide on who your property, possessions and money are given to, which may be different from how you would have planned it.

The Scottish Government’s leaflet (pdf) 'Rights of Succession' explains the Succession (Scotland) Act 1964 which sets out the law in this area. 

You can make an appointment with a solicitor to write your will (you can find a solicitor on The Law Society Scotland website, or you can get free advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau. You can find your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau from the Citizens Advice Scotland website.