What you need to do when someone dies

When someone close to you passes away, the next steps may feel very challenging. It can be an incredibly stressful, upsetting and difficult time, and for some, the raw emotions and grief can feel overwhelming. 

And although we all know there are things that will need to be done, exactly what, in what order, is not something most of us are familiar with, unless we’ve already been through it with someone else. 

This article will take you through the steps you will need to consider when someone dies in the UK and gives you a practical checklist you can use. 

We will look at the different actions to take when someone dies at home compared to when they die in a hospital, and what happens if the death is unexpected. 

If there is anything further you’d like to know, or any support we can give, please just call us on 01513178851. Thank you.

What you need to do immediately when someone dies 

1. If the death is unexpected, call the emergency services on 999 straight away.  • If you are present, check for signs of life. If they are not breathing you could try CPR if you know how. If you know the person has a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Order, then do not attempt CPR. • Do not move the person, leave that to the emergency services.  • A coroner (or procurator fiscal in Scotland) will usually be involved before a doctor can issue the medical certificate cause of death, known as an ‘MCCD’. 

2. If the person dies at home and it is an expected death (for instance, they have been very ill), call their doctor or NHS 111 so they can confirm the death and issue the MCCD.  

3. If the person dies in a hospital, hospice or care home, the staff there will usually arrange for a doctor to verify the death and issue the MCCD for you.  All deaths are reported by the doctor to the Medical Examiner’s Office, who will usually call you to discuss the cause of death and any concerns you have. 

Begin making the funeral arrangements 

1. If the person who died did not have a funeral plan, then you will need to choose someone to provide the funeral. For instance, you can call Eterna Care Services– if you need to arrange a simple cremation you can call us any time of day or night, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Just call us on 01513178851. If the collection is urgent, we can usually be there in just a few hours. 

2. We will also send you the application for cremation (known as the ‘Cremation 1 Form’) and our contract. You will need to check, complete and return these.  

3. The documents are usually completed and signed by email; we can send and receive them by post but this will mean it takes a little longer to make the arrangements. 

4. You can also send us the green form, if the registrar hasn’t done so. 

5. And, if you need to pay us from the deceased’s account, funds can usually be released by showing a copy of our invoice and the death certificate to the relevant bank. 

Register the death 

1. As soon as you can, take the medical certificate (the MCCD) to the local register office (within five days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or eight days in Scotland).  

2. If you don’t know where your nearest register office is, you can find it online. 

3. The registrar will provide: • A death certificate (you may need multiple copies for banks, insurance and so on). • A certificate for burial or cremation (also known as the ‘green form’). If you tell them you are using Eterna Care Services- for instance, they will usually be able to email us a copy directly. The cremation cannot take place without the funeral company having this green form. • Details of the ‘Tell Us Once’ service (which lets you notify lots of government departments in one go about the death). 

Notify government and financial institutions 

1. Use the Tell Us Once service (if available), or if not, inform: • HMRC (for tax and benefits). • DWP (for state pensions and benefits). • Banks, mortgage lenders, insurers, and utility providers. • Any employer or pension provider.

2. You should also close any bank accounts, settle any debts (such as mortgage, loans or credit cards) and claim any life insurance. If eligible, you may also be able to claim bereavement benefits. 

3. If the person who has died was receiving benefits, payments might stop immediately, and overpayments may need to be repaid. You can also let know any employers, the person’s solicitor and utility companies. 

Arrange the send-off / remembrance 

1. You may want to tell friends and family who knew the deceased about their death; as well as doing so individually, there are online services such as funeral-notices.co.uk which have largely replaced obituary notices in local newspapers. 

2. See if the person made a ‘record of wishes’ or similar, which may tell you what they wanted to happen after their death, such as what kind of funeral or send-off they may have wanted.  

3. If you are planning on having some kind of send-off or remembrance, you can start thinking of where and when and what kind.  

4. For a traditional funeral, you may not have very long to make the arrangements, as the service will be part of the funeral, so you may have to notify those you wish to invite quite quickly.  

5. For a Direct Cremation with Eterna Care, you will have more time to arrange your own send-off whenever you wish, perhaps when it is more convenient for people to attend and when you are not in the first period of grieving.