In Times Of Bereavement
When someone dies there are many decisions and arrangements to be made. Unfortunately these often have to be made at a time of personal distress.
This page gives you help and guidance about what to do from the moment of a person’s death.If The Death Occurs In Hospital
1. Contact a funeral director to inform them their services are required.
2. Collect the certificate from the hospital then follow 4 – 5 as above
Note For Cremation
Your funeral director will usually liaise directly with the surgery regarding the additional certification required.
For complete guidance, visit the what to do after a death section of the gov.uk website, www.gov.uk/after-a-death.If Death Occurs At Home
1. Telephone the doctor who will visit to confirm that death has taken place.
2. Contact a funeral director.
3. Arrange to collect the doctor’s medical certificate of death (usually from the surgery).
4. Take this to the registrars’ Office, (together with the deceased’s medical card and birth certificate, if available) for the area in which the death took place.
Alternatively you can register by declaration at any convenient registrars’ office but certificates will not be available as these will have to be posted to you a few days later.
5. The registrar will normally issue a green coloured certificate for you to give to your funeral director who will look after necessary arrangements for the funeral. The registrar will also issue a white notification certificate for the DSS. They will also enquire as to the number of certified copies you require for dealing with the deceased finances (a fee is payable for each copy).Who do I need to tell?
The county council offers a ‘tell us once’ service which means you will be able to just tell them once about the death, and then they will tell other government departments and local authority services for you.
Your local registrar will give you a unique reference number to access the tell us once service online or by phone. You will need the deceased’s:
date of birth
National Insurance number
driving license number
passport number
details of any benefits or entitlements they were getting, eg State Pension
details of any local council services they were getting, eg Blue Badge
name and address of their next of kin
name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’
You need permission from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the deceased, before you give their details. More information about the Staffordshire county council tell us once service can be found at, www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Tell-Us-Once-Death
Organisations ‘Tell us Once’ will notify:
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) – to deal with tax and cancel benefits
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – to cancel benefits, eg income support
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) – to cancel a driving license
Passport Office – to cancel a passport
The local council – to cancel housing benefit, council tax benefit, a Blue Badge,
Inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
You’ll have to let the relevant organisations know about the death yourself if your local register office doesn’t offer the Tell Us Once service or you choose not to use it.How to register a death in Lichfield District
By law you must register a death within five days, unless a Registrar says that this period may be extended.
The local register office is:
Lichfield Register Office (inc. Tamworth)
The Old Library Building, Bird Street, Lichfield, WS13 6PN
Phone
0300 111 8001
Opening hours
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 5pm (Alternate Wednesdays until 6pm)
Phone Enquiries, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, Saturday, 9am to 5pm.
You can register a death at any Register Office in England or Wales. To find other offices visit the Staffordshire County Council
Website
www.staffordshire.gov.uk/community
Phoenix at St Giles, Bereavement support for children and young people
Like adults, young people respond to bereavement in different ways. The experience can make them more vulnerable to health disorders, lower self-esteem, isolation and detachment. But with good support, children, young people and their families can overcome the disadvantages associated with bereavement.
Phone
01543 434536
Website
www.stgileshospice.com
Email
sct@stgileshospice.comSouth Staffordshire Cruse Bereavement Care
South Staffordshire Cruse Bereavement Care can provide a confidential listening ear, reassurance, advice and support to anyone who has been bereaved in the Cannock, Lichfield, Tamworth and Rugeley areas.
Phone
01543 433479 and leave a message
Website
www.cruse.org.uk/south-staffordshireEast Staffordshire Cruse Bereavement Care
Geoffrey Hodges Wing, Queens Hospital Belvedere Road, Burton upon Trent.
Phone
01283 509098
You can find more information on the national Cruse Bereavement Care website.The Child Bereavement Trust
The Child Bereavement Trust provides support for bereaved families.
Website
www.childbereavementuk.org/Samaritans
You can contact the Samaritans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Phone
116 123
Website
www.samaritans.org
Email
jo@samaritans.org