WHO CAN HELP YOU AT THIS TIME?
YOUR GP - General Practitioner
Your first priority will be to get a death certificate after someone dies. In addition to the legal requirement, this will mean your first contact following the death of someone you are close to will likely be the deceased's own doctor. (If the death has happened through a fatal accident or other tragic circumstances your first contact maybe a paramedic or police officer.)
All these professional individuals will help advise you on the procedures you next need to undertake.
A CORONER
If the person whose death you are dealing with occurred in suspicious circumstances or died without having seen a doctor for two weeks prior to their death, the GP or medical professional involved in registering the death may refer the death to a local Coroner.
It is the Coroner's job to investigate the circumstances before a funeral can take place. Again, the staff at a Coroner's office can help you and advise you on the procedures you will need to undertake.
A CIVIL CELEBRANT or RELIGIOUS LEADER
In addition to the dealing with the medical and registration side of a death, you will need to start thinking about arrangements you will need to make for any kind of funeral, memorial or other form of farewell ceremony.
If the person who died is an active member of a local religious community you may wish to get in touch with a local senior member of his or her faith group.
If the person who has died was not particularly religious or had no fundamental beliefs, a trained Civil Celebrant will be able to help you make plans and take you through your options.
Whichever route you chose, you will find caring and understanding individuals who can assist you at this difficult time.
FUNERAL DIRECTOR / UNDERTAKER
After a death, the majority of people contact a local Funeral Director or Undertaker. (There is no difference in the job they do.)
This is not a legal requirement but they are professional people who deal with funeral arrangements all the time and know how to manage the whole procedure.
You can arrange a funeral yourself or with the help of both a Civil Celebrant or a Funeral Director playing a more minor part. It may help you to have support from those who have successfully arranged many funeral events before.
BEREAVEMENT COUNSELLING
Although all the professionals mentioned above are caring, supportive and understand how difficult the loss of a loved one can be, they have specific jobs to do to ensure the two legal necessities are completed after the death of an individual – registration of the death and the legal disposal of the human remains.
If you yourself are finding the loss of a loved one extremely difficult to deal with and may wish to receive more specialist counselling, your GP or local health centre should be able to point you to specialist bereavement counsellors or you may wish to get more information from the National Bereavement Alliance whose website can be found here.