What to do with the body

Being with a person whilst they die or finding the body of a deceased person can be frightening and overwhelming. If you're looking for guidance on who to contact or how to move forward please refer to the information below.

An unexpected death or accident at home

Call emergency services immediately.
In some circumstances the Coroner may be required to determine the cause of death – this will be organised by the police.
The Coroner will hold the body until cause of death can be established.
A Post Mortem Report and/or Certificate of Cause of Death is not released by the Coroner’s office for sometimes, up to 2 years after date of death which holds up the release of some assets to the deceased estate.
An Interim Death Certificate is released by Births, Deaths & Marriages about three weeks after the deceased is buried / cremated.
A Final Death Certificate is not released until after the Certificate of Cause of Death is sent to Births, Deaths & Marriages by the Coroner’s Office.
You can find out more about the Coronial process HERE

An expected death at home

Call the person’s general practitioner, paramedics, or the police.
A medical practitioner must determine the cause of death and complete a Certificate of Cause of Death (this is different to a death certificate and is required before a funeral director can be engaged).
If no cause of death can be established, the coroner may need to be involved – this will be organised by emergency services.
Depending on the location of death you may wish to keep the body at home (you can find more information HERE) whilst you make funeral arrangements, transport the body to a morgue or engage a funeral director.

Death at a nursing home or hospital

A doctor will establish the cause of death and complete a Certificate of Cause of Death.
If the natural cause of death can’t be established the doctor will liaise with the coroner.
If the deceased person wished to donate their organs and/or tissue, it’s important to make these decisions before the death – make sure you find out by asking them, reading their Advance Care Directive or their will or if they were registered on the Organ Donor Register (this can be checked by authorised medical practitioners at any time). Organ donation needs consent by the family and cannot be authorised by the executor of the estate.
The hospital or nursing home may allow you to leave the body in the mortuary for an agreed duration whilst you make funeral arrangements,
If not you can arrange to have the body transported to a funeral home or morgue (you do not have to use the same funeral director for the funeral service and can have the body transferred to another funeral home if you wish).

Disclaimer: All estate management information provided in this document is general in nature and may not apply to your specific circumstances. Please seek independent, specific legal advice from Your Estate Lawyer for your unique situation.

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