Louisa Nicoll's husband John died from cancer in August 2020 after she spent a year preparing for his death. John organised their household finances meticulously and asked companies to transfer accounts to Louisa's name before he died. Despite these efforts, Louisa continued receiving post addressed to John from their energy provider, and their children received text messages from their mobile phone provider addressing their late father by name.
Louisa felt "utterly exhausted, overwhelmed, frustrated and angry" managing administrative tasks while grieving. She has since become an advocate for standardised bereavement practices across companies. Sarah Middlemiss, policy campaigns manager at end-of-life charity Marie Curie, told BBC's Morning Live that inconsistent company procedures compound the difficulty of dealing with administrative tasks while grieving. She called for "proper training on how to deal with people who are grieving or who are terminally ill in a really sensitive and timely manner".
Louisa now gives talks urging families to discuss end-of-life planning in advance. She says most people "leave the end of life completely to chance" despite planning other major life events. John had advised her before his death that she would "tell our story, and show people that it is possible to live well when faced with dying".