What do I have to do after someone dies?
The Department of Work and Pensions’ website has a great deal of useful information about this.  Click on this link www.dwp.gov.uk/advisers/d49/ to open a new window at their website to access it.  The information is also available in booklet form, copies of which are available from us.

My wife was not a religious person, so although we want a decent funeral for her she wouldn't have wanted a clergyman she had never met standing up and saying a lot of things which would have been meaningless to her. Do you have to have a religious ceremony at a funeral?

No. There is no reason why the funeral ceremony for a person with no religious belief should not be meaningful and moving. In these circumstances a secular funeral officiant would take the place of the clergyman to conduct the ceremony. He or she would work closely with the family to create the service that was right for them and for the person who had died. A typical secular service would include poetry, music and a brief address acknowledging the deceased person's life, character, and achievements. If wished a relative or family friend could speak. The British Humanist Association can provide secular funeral officiants.  It is also important to realise, however, that you are not restricted to the ‘black and white’ choice of a ‘religious’ or ‘non-religious’ funeral: many people, while not considering themselves religious, still believe in life after death and still want the ceremony to reflect this.  There are men and women available (most being ordained clergy) who are willing to officiate at a funeral, putting their own specific beliefs to one side and empathising with the bereaved to provide a ceremony sympathetic to their needs.

I have heard that the cremation ashes I receive from the crematorium will not necessarily be those of my loved one. Is this true?

Absolutely not. The cremation process is governed by very strict rules and regulations. The crematorium authorities take the greatest care to ensure that every individual cremation is kept a completely separate process.

Instead of people sending flowers to my funeral I think it would be nice if people made donations in my memory to a charity. Can the funeral director look after this?

Yes. We will co-ordinate the collection of donations entirely. People can send donations to us which we keep safe until all the donations have been received. Each donation is acknowledged on your behalf by us in a letter to the donor. We then write to the charities concerned enclosing the donations, and write to you to advise the total received,  enclosing a list of the people who have sent a donation.

Is there any State help towards the cost of the funeral?

Yes, but it is a means-tested benefit.  If the person who is responsible for paying for the funeral is receiving Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit where a disabled worker is included in the assessment, Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit they may be eligible to make a claim from the D.W.P. Social Fund. 

The payment will contribute £700 towards our fees and the minister's fee and a further sum to cover any other reasonably-incurred disbursements. Your funeral director will be able to advise fully on the cost of the funeral and what constitute 'reasonably-incurred disbursements'. Additional services we provide beyond what is covered by the £700 Social Fund payment have to be met privately. Further details can be found in the D.W.P. leaflet 'What to do after a death' which is available from us.

I have heard that if you die suddenly the Coroner has to carry out an investigation. What does this involve?

If a person dies and their doctor is not sure about the cause of death, he or she is obliged to report the death to the Coroner. If the death was sudden or unexpected or unnatural, or if no doctor had been in attendance during the last illness, it must also be reported to the Coroner.

If the death is reported to the Coroner he may look at the circumstances and decide that he does not need to be involved and that the doctor can issue a death certificate. In this case the Coroner sends a certificate to the Register Office saying he has been informed of the death, that he does not need to investigate the death further, and giving permission for the death to be registered. In these circumstances before you go to the register office to register the death you must check with them that they have received this certificate from the Coroner otherwise you will have a wasted journey.

Sometimes the circumstances will demand that the Coroner must instruct an autopsy to be carried out to determine the cause of death. In this case, and for deaths in this part of East Sussex, the deceased must be conveyed to the Conquest Hospital mortuary.

Once the pathologist has determined the cause of death he or she will send a report to the Coroner who will decide the next step. Usually once a cause of death is established the Coroner will release the body as soon as possible. If the family want a cremation he sends a certificate to the funeral director saying the cremation can go ahead and a certificate to the Register Office saying the death can be registered. If the family want a burial he sends a certificate to the Register Office saying the death can be registered, and when the family have done this they must deliver the green certificate for burial (which the Registrar gives them) to the funeral director. The normal time-scale for all this would be: death - day 1; autopsy conducted on the morning of day 2; clearance certificate arrives at Register Office
about 11:00 a.m. on day 3.

If a clear cause of death does not show up at the autopsy the pathologist may have to send medical samples away for histology tests. This can result in a delay before the body is released (usually about a week).

For deaths resulting from violence or an accident, as well as asking for an autopsy, the Coroner will also call for an inquest to be held. This is an informal court hearing to look into the facts surrounding the death. He will normally open and immediately adjourn an inquest which allows the body to be released for the funeral. The re-opened inquest can be held several weeks later. When there is an inquest you may not visit the Register Office to obtain copies of the entry in the register until after the inquest is finally closed. However, to enable you to begin to administer the deceased's estate the Coroner can issue you with an interim death certificate.

The Coroner for East Sussex is Mr Alan Craze, a solicitor, whose office is in St. Leonards-on-Sea. Your normal point of contact for liaising with the Coroner is via the Coroner's Officer, whom you can contact on 01424 456 009.

The Home Office Guide entitled 'The Work of the Coroner' - which is available from us - explains the role of the Coroner in more detail.