After a loved one passes away

It can be difficult to know what to do when a loved one dies. There are a number of things to sort out, but you are understandably likely to be upset and overwhelmed.

We’re here to help you take the first steps when someone close to you passes away.

What to do when a loved one passes

It’s natural to feel shocked and somewhat helpless when someone close passes away. Our role is to advise you on the first steps you must take when someone close to you dies. We will do our utmost to support you every step of the way.

Get in touch with us as quickly as possible and we can help make this difficult time as stress free as possible. We can advise you on the duties that fall to you, to make them more simple, manageable tasks, and we’ll take care of everything else.

If death occurs at home or at a nursing home:

Contact the doctor of the person who has passed away. He/She will confirm the death and provide a certificate which officially permits us to take the deceased into our care.
Contact us next. We will answer any questions you might have, just ask.

If death occurs in hospital:

Contact us and we’ll talk you through the next steps to begin funeral preparations.
You will be able to collect the Certificate of Death from the hospital, which should then be submitted to the Registrar’s office for the local area. It might also be beneficial to take any other official documentation for the deceased – such as marriage, birth and medical certificates.
Documents from the Registrar officially allow a burial or cremation to take place. You will be issued with a green certificate that should be passed to us as soon as possible. This allows us to begin the funeral arrangements and let you know of any state funding to which you could be entitled.
We will be with you each step of the way to explain the options available to you.

If death occurs suddenly:

Contact us as soon as possible so we can liaise with the Coroner’s office.
It is an automatic process that the Coroner will be involved in sudden or unexpected deaths, one reason being that the person who has died will not have been regularly receiving care from a doctor.
We will explain the full process to you and answer any queries you may have.

If death occurs far away from home or in another country:

When you bring your loved one into our care:

We will ask you where you would like your loved one to rest before the funeral; at home or in our funeral home.
If you choose to have your loved one at home, we would ask that you allow them to come into our care beforehand so that we can make the necessary preparations.

Green certificate:

The Registrar will issue this for burial or cremation, which we will require before the funeral takes place.
You can obtain certified copies of the entry of death for a small charge. You may need this for legal or financial purposes.
If the death has been referred to the Coroner then the process may vary, we will go through this with you.

Affairs of your loved one:

Here is a list of things you may need to consider upon the death of a loved one:

Accounts with banks, building societies, Post Office, premium bonds or Co-Operative Society.
Payments being made for insurance premiums, rental or HP agreements, standing orders or credit cards.
Change of name in responsibility to suppliers for gas, electric, car and car insurance, home insurance and TV licence etc.
Notification of circumstances – as the financial circumstances for the deceased’s family will now have changed, there are various grants and allowances available that may help with funeral expenses, rent/council tax rebates, widow’s pension etc. You can speak to your local Town Hall, Citizen’s Advice Bureau or DWP office for more information.