Formal procedures when someone dies
People die following illness, accident or even totally unexpectedly in a wide range of different locations. When and where this occurs determine a particular response. They may be in an institution such as a hospital ward or in a particular department such as ICU, or they may be in a nursing or retirement home. Many people choose to die at home and this presents a different set of requirements for the family to deal with.
Hospital or Rest Home
When death occurs in a hospital or rest home, the staff are there to take care of initial medical formalities and they will ensure that the necessary forms are taken care of. This is firstly a ‘Certificate of Cause of Death’ but if cremation is desired, family must inform the staff so that cremation forms are also completed by a doctor. The staff will also contact the funeral director of your choice if you so desire and arrange the transfer of the deceased to the funeral home.
Home
When a person dies at home with support from hospice or palliative care services, the hospice staff will help with the formalities at this time and they will ensure that the deceased’s doctor is notified and completes the necessary forms as above.
If the deceased person is not under hospice care and dies at home, the family should contact the family doctor to officially verify that death has occurred and confirm that the doctor will be signing the medical death certificate.
At some stage, let next of kin and family members know that the person has died and contact the preferred funeral director to arrange the transfer of the deceased to the funeral home. Also, arrange a time to meet and discuss funeral arrangements with the funeral director. This often happens the next day giving the family a bit of time and space to collect their thoughts regarding the funeral service. It is important not to rush this part of the process.
Unexpected Death
Sometimes death occurs unexpectedly due to ill health or through accident, undocumented illness, suicide or misadventure and may occur in the home, care facility or in a public place. Deaths in this case are generally referred to the Coroner’s Office and a funeral director will be advised by the coroner on how to proceed. Further investigation into the cause of death may then take place and the coroner will keep the family and whanau well informed of when and where this will take place. You are not obliged to engage the funeral director who transported the deceased body once the coroner has released the person’s body.
A death is generally referred to the Coroner for the following reasons:
- Unexpected death – the deceased may have been receiving treatment but if the doctor involved did not expect the person to die, then this should be investigated. Sometimes the doctor will sign off the death if the cause was obviously related to the illness being treated and death was not entirely unexpected.
- Accidental or injury causing death – the cause of death may appear to be clear but the coroner must be certain there were no other contributing factors. Death may have occurred just prior to an accident happening or have been caused by a fault in a vehicle or machinery being used at the time.
- Violence or self-inflicted injury – death has occurred as the result of violence in the community or suicide
- Medical causes – a patient might die whilst under anaesthetic and the coroner might deem it necessary to investigate further
- Doctor will not sign off – as mentioned above, in some cases the deceased’s doctor will not agree to sign of the Certificate of Cause of Death
- The deceased person identity cannot be positively confirmed
- The deceased dies in an institution other than a hospital such as prison or in police custody
A useful booklet is available at https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Publications/cornerscourtwhensomeonediessuddenly.pdf
Your First Call To A Funeral Director
In the first phone call the funeral director is likely to want the following information from you:
- The name of the deceased
- The contact details of the primary contact
- A time and venue to meet for the first discussion about funeral arrangements
- Who has authority to allow the transfer from the place of death (see below)
- Address details so they can arrange transfer of the deceased to their care
- Questions about whether a doctor has been contacted to verify cause of death
They will then arrange for the transfer into their care, and perhaps a visit to a doctor for an evaluation of the cause of death.
Who Has The Authority?
One of the first questions a funeral director will try and determine is who has authority to make the after-care and funeral decisions for the person who has died. If there is a will, the executor usually has authority. If there is no will, or the will has yet to be found, the next of kin has legal authority. The next of kin may choose to nominate a family member to have authority on their behalf.
The courts have determined the following hierarchy in determining who is next of kin:
- Surviving spouse, Civil Union Partner or de facto partner
- Children of the deceased
- Parents of the deceased
- Brothers and sisters of the deceased
- Grandparents of the deceased
- Aunts and Uncles of the decease