The death of a loved one may be one of the most devastating and painful times many of us will experience.
Here at Peter Forshaws, we are here to guide and help you through this very difficult time.
We are here for you, 24 hours a day, so no matter what time someone passes away, our dedicated team will collect your loved one and bring them into our care as soon as possible.
When someone passes away, the death must be registered within the area in which the death occurred.
If the death has been referred to the coroner, the death cannot be registered until the registrar has received confirmation from the coroner to do so.
We understand that there is a lot of information to take in and we are happy to help with any guidance or assistance that you require and we are contactable 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
If the death is expected, the Doctor, district nurse or senior nurse should be contacted.
Once the death has been verified, either yourselves or the care home staff will contact us to let us know.
The Doctor will then send their notes to the medical Examiner, who will check the cause of the death and will make sure this is accurate.
The medical examiner will then call you (the Next-Of-Kin), who will explain the cause of death and will answer any questions you have about the cause of death.
Once the medical examiner has carried out their checks, they will pass on all the relevant information to the registrars, who will then contact you (Next-Of-Kin) to arrange an appointment to register the death.
The doctor at the hospital will pass their medical notes on to the medical examiner, who will make sure the cause of death is accurate. Then the medical examiner will contact you (the next-Of-Kin) and explain the cause of death and answer any questions you may have about the cause of death.
Once the medical examiner has carried out their checks, they will pass on all the relevant information to the registrars, who will then contact you (Next-Of-Kin) to arrange an appointment to register the death.
The coroner might decide to carry out a post-mortem to find out how the person died. This is done either in a hospital or mortuary.
You cannot object to a post-mortem – but if you’ve asked the coroner must tell you when and where the examination will take place.
The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examinations are needed.
If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form (‘Pink Form – form 100B’) to the registrar stating the cause of death.
The coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner – form Cremation 6’, to the funeral directors, if the body is to be cremated.
A coroner must hold an inquest if:
If you need proof of the death while you wait for the inquest to finish, you can ask the coroner for an interim death certificate.
Once the inquest is finished, you will be able to get the final death certificate from the registrar.
You must register the death within 5 days of being contacted by the medical examiner, registrar or coroner, and these days include weekends and bank holidays.
The registrar will give you a certificate for cremation or burial, which is often called the Green Certificate, which you will need to pass on to us as soon as possible. We will need the Green Certificate before we can collect the deceased from a hospital mortuary and before we can book a date and time for the cremation or burial to take place.
The registrar will also give you a form to send to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to allow them to deal with the person’s pension and benefits.
The death certificate is a copy of the entry made by the registrar in the death register. You may need several copies of the certificate as it is needed to deal with money or property left by the person, including dealing with the Will.
If none of these options are possible, contact the Register Office for advice.
If a death takes place abroad it must be registered according to the law of that country. The death should also be reported to the British Consul, who may be able to arrange for the death to be registered in the UK as well.
Returning a body to the UK is expensive but the cost may be covered by any travel insurance taken out by the person. If the death was on a package holiday the tour operator should be able to help with arrangements.
When a body is returned to the UK, the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the district where the funeral is to take place must be told and will need to issue a certificate before burial can take place. If cremation is to take place, the Home Office also needs to give permission.
