What To Do When Someone Dies
When someone dies there are many decisions and arrangements which have to be made. The following information may help you with this process at such a difficult time of grief.
If death occurs in a hospital, the hospital staff will inform you if you are the next of kin. They will also arrange for the nearest relative to collect the deceased’s belongings.
The hospital mortuary will keep the body until the executor arranges for it to be transferred. The hospital doctor will give you a medical certificate confirming the cause of death along with a note telling you how to register the death.
Often, deaths that occur at home or in a nursing home will have been expected for some time. If this is the case, you should contact the doctor who has been treating the deceased. He or she will then attend to confirm that death has occurred, or will give permission for the deceased to be transferred to a funeral director’s premises if you wish.
The doctor will also give you the medical certificate. You can then contact a funeral director of your choice, who will arrange to transfer the deceased to their premises. The find a funeral director search facility at the top of the page may be of help.
If the doctor is unsure about the cause of death, the death must be reported to a coroner. In this case, the body will be taken to a hospital mortuary and a post mortem may be held before a medical certificate is issued.
Once you have the medical certificate, you need to register the death.
Important information about the person who has died you may also require:
