What to do when someone dies

Amidst the grief of losing someone and arranging a funeral, there are some legal proceedings which must take place.

This can be difficult, particularly if you have never had to go through this before. At Turner & Wilson we are familiar with the proceedings and will be happy to guide you every step of the way.  The important items are these...

• Contact the doctor or hospital to obtain a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death.  At the same time you will be given a notice with details about registering the death.
• Telephone the Registrar of Births and Deaths and make an appointment to register the death.  The Registrar will give you a Death Certificate - a copy of the entry in the Registry of Births and Deaths.  You should ask for extra copies of this (which you must pay for) as you will need them for dealings with pensions, banks, tax office etc.
• Contact us to make funeral arrangements.  We can handle everything else for you from here.

If you would like to find out more about this for yourself the Bereavement Advice Centre runs a very useful and comprehensive website.