Death Management
When someone dies there are many decisions and arrangements to make, all of which can be difficult in a time of grief. To help, we've put together this checklist to guide you through the process. Your local authority may also be able to provide support and advice about the arrangements that need to be made after a bereavement, such as registering the death and obtaining a death certificate.
You should gather the following information as you will need it to hand:
- The deceased’s National Insurance number
- The deceased’s NHS number
- Date and place of birth
- Date and place of death
- Date and place of marriage
- Any previous names or any alias that the deceased was known by
- The deceased’s Tax office and tax reference details
- The name and address of any surviving spouse or civil partner
What do I have to do?
Much will depend on where the person who has died passed away. If they passed away in hospital or a care home there will usually be staff on hand who know what to do and who will provide practical and emotional assistance.
The person who has died will need to be formally identified by the person named by them as the next of kin. The next of kin may also need to give permission for a hospital post-mortem examination if the cause of the death has to be confirmed; however, a coroner's post-mortem examination may be carried out without consent. The body will then be laid out and kept in the hospital mortuary until you arrange for the funeral directors, family or whoever you chose to collect it. If you choose, funeral directors will take the body to their chapel of rest until the funeral takes place.
A doctor at the hospital will give you a medical certificate that shows the cause of death. This has to be produced before the death can be registered. They will give you the medical certificate in a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. You'll also be given information on how to register the death. If the body is to be cremated, two doctors will sign the medical certificate to show the body has been examined. There will be a charge for this.
Staff in the hospital or care home will keep safe the possessions that the person who has died had in hospital until the person administering the estate arranges for them to be collected. They'll issue a receipt when the possessions are collected.
What if the Coroner becomes involved?
The coroner is a doctor or lawyer responsible for investigating deaths in particular situations and can also arrange for a post-mortem examination of the body, if necessary. An inquest is a legal inquiry into the causes and circumstances of a death.
If death occurs in any of the following circumstances, the doctor may report it to the coroner:
- After an accident or injury
- Following an industrial disease
- During a surgical operation
- Before recovery from an anaesthetic
- If the cause of death is unknown
- If the death was violent or unnatural - for example, suicide, accident or drug or alcohol overdose
- If the death was sudden and unexplained - for instance, a sudden infant death (cot death)
In addition to this, if the deceased was not seen by the doctor issuing the medical certificate after he or she died, or during the 14 days before the death, the death must be reported to the coroner. Anyone who is concerned about the cause of a death can inform a coroner about it, but in most cases a death will be reported to the coroner by a doctor or the police.
The coroner may be the only person able to certify the cause of death. The doctor will write on the Formal Notice that the death has been referred to the coroner. The Formal Notice is issued to you by the attending doctor and is a document which explains how you register the death. The coroner will then decide whether there should be further investigation into the death - and the registrar cannot register the death until notified of the coroner's decision. This means that the funeral will usually also be delayed. Where a post-mortem has taken place, the coroner must give permission for cremation.
Post-mortems
In some cases, the coroner will need to order a post-mortem. This is a medical examination of the body to find out more about the cause of death. In these cases, the body will be taken to hospital for this to be carried out. You do not have the right to object to a post-mortem ordered by the coroner, but you should tell the coroner if you have religious or other strong objections. In cases where a death is reported to a coroner because the person had not seen a doctor in the previous 14 days (28 in Northern Ireland) the coroner will consult with the deceased person's doctor and will usually not need to order a post-mortem. If a post-mortem shows that death was due to natural causes, the coroner will issue a notification of this (called a Pink Form B - Form 100), so that the death can be registered. The notification is usually sent directly to the registrar, but in some cases, it may be given to you to deliver. If the body is to be cremated, the coroner will also give you the form which allows this to take place (called Certificate for Cremation - Form E).
Inquests
An inquest is a legal inquiry into the medical cause and circumstances of a death. It is held in public - sometimes with a jury - by a coroner, in cases where the death was:
- Violent or unnatural
took place in prison or police custody or when the cause of death is still uncertain after a post-mortem. Coroners hold inquests in these circumstances even if the death occurred abroad (and the body is returned to Britain). If a body is lost (usually at sea) a coroner can hold an inquest by order of the Secretary of State if death is likely to have occurred in or near a coroner's area of jurisdiction.
If an inquest is held, the coroner must inform:- The married or civil partner of the deceased
- The nearest relative (if different from the above) and the personal representative (if different from the above)
- Relatives can also attend an inquest and ask questions of witnesses - these questions can only be about the medical cause and circumstances of the death. Relatives can also ask a lawyer to represent them, but there is no legal aid available for this. It may be particularly important to have a lawyer to represent you if the death was caused by a road accident, an accident at work, or other circumstances which could lead to a claim for compensation.
