What to do if there is a death.
When a death occurs it is important to make early contact with a Funeral Director either in person or by telephone, who will be able to give advice and guidance.

The following general information may be helpful to you.

Registration
By law a death must be registered. Following the death, a certificate of the cause is usually issued by the attending Doctor. The purpose of this document is to enable the death to be registered - wherever possible by a near relative.

It is necessary for the informant to attend the Register Office in person, normally in the area where the death occurred. In addition to the doctor's certificate of death (and the deceased's medical card if available) the Registrar will require the following information:

• The date and place of death.
• The full name and surname (and the maiden surname if the deceased was a woman who had married).
• The date and place of birth.
• The occupation (and if the deceased was a married woman or widow the name and occupation of her husband).
• The deceased's usual address.
• Whether the deceased was in receipt of a pension or allowance from public funds.
• If the deceased was married, the date of birth of the surviving widow or widower.

The Registrar will then issue:

• A green Certificate for Burial or Cremation, which will be required by the Funeral Director in order to arrange either burial or cremation, and to enable the deceased to be removed from Hospital.
• A white Registration Certificate, which is required if financial assistance is sought from the DSS for the funeral.
• Certified copies of the Registrar's Entry can be purchased at this time from the Registrar for the settlement of private affairs, e.g. bank, solicitors. insurance, etc.

NB. If it is impossible to register the death as above, arrangements can be made for the certificate and details to be passed through another Register Office in England and Wales. This however may be a complicated and lengthy procedure and should be discussed with a Registrar or Funeral Director.

Coroners Cases
If a death occurs suddenly, or if the deceased has not been attended by his/her own doctor at some time during the previous 14 days, the death will be reported to Her Majesty's Coroner. It is the duty of the Coroner in these circumstances to establish the cause of death, normally by ordering a post-mortem examination, and only once this has been done will the funeral be able to take place. Usually, the Coroner's procedures takes a few days to complete and the relatives will be kept informed of the situation by the Coroner's Office and told at what stage they are able to register the death.

If the death is due to unnatural causes an Inquest is necessary. This may be completed quickly, or opened and adjourned to a later date, in which case the Coroner will normally release the body to enable a funeral to take place and an interim certificate can be issued to assist with estate matters. When the Inquest is complete the death is automatically registered by a procedure of the Coroner.

Probate and Letters of Administration
The distribution of a person's estate is the responsibility of the person or persons named in the will as "executors". Where there is no will the person is said to have died intestate application for Letters of Administration must be made, usually by the nearest relative, in order to administer the estate. You may instruct a solicitor to do this on your behalf.