What do I do when someone dies?

We’ll help you to understand what to do

Don’t worry, we realise you may not have deal with the death of a loved one before – we don’t expect you to know what to do. Like you, many people just don’t know what happens (and what they need to do) following the death of a loved one – so we hope that the below information will provide you with some help and guidance at what can often be an difficult time.

If your loved one dies in hospital…

Hospital staff will arrange for a doctor to issue the Medical Certificate of Death – you will need this document, so you can collect it, along with any belongings, from the hospital.

If the funeral is to be a cremation, you’ll also need to inform the hospital staff so they can make organise any additional documentation needed.

If your loved one dies at home or in a nursing home…

First of all, contact the deceased’s doctor who, if satisfied with the cause of death, will issue the Medical Certificate of Death. Sometimes you’ll need to collect the certificate from the surgery.

Nursing home staff will usually liaise with the doctor and arrange to collect the certificate.

If your loved one dies unexpectedly…

If the deceased has not been under a doctor’s care on a regular basis, the emergency doctor (or any police involved) will automatically inform the Coroner’s office. This is just a standard procedure and the Moar & Butler team are here to guide you through.

If your loved one dies away from home or abroad…

Whether it happens elsewhere in the UK or overseas, we can make all the necessary arrangements to get your loved one back home to where you live.

Please contact us on 0151 733 3323 (24-hour manned line) and we’ll take it from here.