What to do after death?
When someone you love dies, what happens? You start to think about all the bills that need to be paid, the funeral care, pets need looking after – it can be stressful to think about.
Registering a Death
The registration of the death is a formal record of the death of the loved one. It is done by the ‘Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages, such as Paul Young Funeral Director based in Askern, Doncaster.
When someone dies at home, the death should be registered. However, if the death took place in a hospital or care home, it must be registered at the register office where the hospital or care home is situated. Paul Young, a Doncaster Funeral Director can assist you in registering and any funeral arrangements that you may require.
When shall I register?
You can register your loved if you are the following:
- Relative who was present at the death
- Relative present during your loved one’s past illness
- Relative living nearby where it took place
- Anyone else present
- The person arranging the funeral, but not the funeral director.
Deaths should be registered within five days but this could be delayed due to the coroner being involved with the death, this means it could take another nine days for you to file the registration of the death but only when the investigations have finished.
Investigations of the deceased will only take place if your loved one passed away suddenly due to an accident or planned attempt, such as suicide. If you fail to register a death, it is put down as a criminal offence, and you will be prosecuted.
When registering, you must take a medical certificate, since your loved one cannot be registered until the registrar has seen this. If possible, you should also take the person’s NHS medical card and birth certificates.
The Registrar will need the following information, such as:
- Date and Place of death
- The full name of the loved one (including their maiden name) and last address.
- The person’s date and place of birth
- The person’s job and career
- Full name of their spouse or civil partner (living or dead)
- Date of birth of spouse or civil partner
- Pension or social security benefits
What will I receive?
After you’ve registered the death, the registrar will give you a green certificate which allows a burial or cremation to go ahead. There’s no charge for the certificate. You should give this to the funeral director, such as Paul Young from Doncaster. If you’re not using a funeral director keep the certificate safe, you’ll need it to arrange the burial or cremation.
Receiving the Death Certificate
We know that this can be a tough time to process, and the death certificate can be hard to receive, but the certificate is a copy of the entry made by the registrar in the death register.
This certificate is needed to deal with money or property left by the person who has died, including dealing with the will. You may need several copies of the certificate, for which there will be a charge.
