Rugby icon Gareth Thomas discusses grief and coronavirus

Losing someone unexpectedly hurts at the best of times, but Coronavirus has cruelly taken friends, families and loved ones indiscriminately. But, according to new research out today looking at people who have lost someone to Coronavirus, there are other issues which have exacerbated the emotional toll.

The research, from Farewill, reveals that almost everyone (94%) affected by Coronavirus says that aspects of death and bereavement have been negatively impacted during this time. Almost half (45%) say that services have slowed down, 38% say getting hold of the right people has been tough, and a further 33% have faced admin challenges because staff are furloughed.

Almost half (40%) say simply registering the death has been difficult due to restrictions. On top of this, 39% say that it’s almost impossible to handle things like pensions, tax and probate. 27% have found companies closed when they’ve been trying to organise aspects of the funeral or probate, while a further 24% have been told that things are “on hold” until after the pandemic.

From a wills perspective, many people have sought to write their own after experiencing loss – a natural step for people to take. 16% say that they started their will because they know someone who died without a will during this period. Again though, this isn’t straightforward. 29% say finding information on technical elements like inheritance tax has become difficult.

On top of this, people are frustrated by the archaic rules around wills. These people, who have lost someone to the virus, have then struggled to find people to witness their will. 72% say that people have been scared to come near in case they break social distancing rules, and 39% have had people refuse to witness for this reason.

Ros discussed this research with rugby star, Gareth Thomas and Dan Garrett from Farewill:

Photo by Mike Labrum on Unsplash