There can be a lot of anxiety and confusion when it comes to legal information at any time, let alone when it becomes associated with death and arranging a funeral.

We’ve outlined below some of the key legal documents that are involved with registering a death. However, if you are in need of further legal support or advice we recommend contacting your chosen solicitor or legal practice.

The Death Certificate/s will be produced by the Parish Registrar once the death is registered by the funeral director. This normally takes about 4 days.

Burial

Medical Certificate of the Fact and Cause of Death

This is issued by the deceased’s GP, or a doctor who has been authorised to do so by the Viscount’s department. (Should the death occur in hospital, this form will be completed by hospital doctors). This document is collected by the funeral director and presented to the relevant Parish Registrar. This document is retained by the Registrar and the details of the death are recorded.

Certificate of Registration of Death

This is issued by the Parish Registrar once the death has been registered. It is required to be presented to the church cemetery for burial. Your funeral director will take care of this for you. 

Cremation

Medical Certificate of the Fact and Cause of Death

This is issued by the deceased’s GP or a doctor who has been authorised by the Viscount’s department. (Should the death occur in hospital, this form will be completed by hospital doctors). The document is collected by the funeral director and presented to the relevant Parish Registrar. This document is retained by the Registrar and the details of the death are recorded.

Certificate of Registration of Death

This is issued by the Parish Registrar once the death has been registered. It is required to be presented to the crematorium authorities prior to the cremation taking place. Your funeral director can take care of this for you.

Certificate of Medical Attendant 

Schedule 2 of this certificate is to be completed by the doctor who signed the Medical Certificate of the Fact and Cause of Death. This doctor is then required to nominate another doctor from a different surgery to complete Schedule 3 of this form.   

Application For Cremation

This is to be completed and signed by an executor or the nearest relative of the deceased. This form is normally completed at the first arrangement meeting with the funeral director.

Authority To Cremate 

The Certificate of Registration of Death, Certificate of Medical Attendant (Schedules 2 & 3) and the Application for Cremation are presented to the Medical Officer of Health. This is usually done by the funeral director, who will then ensure all documentation is correct before authorising for the cremation to take place by signing Schedule 6.

Registering a stillbirth

A stillbirth is when a baby is born without signs of life after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

By law, the birth and death must be registered and hospital staff are able to advise you. Should you wish for help from a funeral director, they will be able to assist you.

Additional support is also available locally from Philip’s Footprints (www.philipsfootprints.org)  or jo@philipsfootprints.org.

Unknown, sudden or suspicious deaths

Post-mortem

A post-mortem may be required to determine the cause of death.

A hospital post-mortem may be requested by the deceased’s family or by doctors.

Authorisation is required by the next of kin. The next of kin may obtain results of the post-mortem by arrangement with the consultant or general practitioner.

If the Viscount decides that a post-mortem examination of the body is needed for an inquest, a request is issued to an appropriate consultant pathologist.

The Viscount may order a post-mortem without authorisation from the next of kin.

More information can be found in the booklet Post-Mortem Guide For Relatives which is issued by Police Liaison Officers.

Viscount intervention

Should the cause of death be unknown, sudden, unexpected or there are suspicious circumstances, the Viscount is required, by law, to investigate the death.

The States Greffe reviews both the police and post-mortem examination reports.

If there are no circumstances requiring further investigation, and the death is found to have been from natural causes, it is unlikely an inquest will be held.

In such cases, the Greffe will immediately issue documentation to the mortuary at the hospital so the deceased can be released.

If the Greffe decides that an inquest is to be held, this may cause a delay in confirming the date of the funeral.

The Greffe will try to set a date for the inquest as soon as possible then open and adjourn enabling the funeral arrangements to take place.

The full inquest would then take place at a later date.

For more information visit www.gov.gg or contact the States of Guernsey Greffe directly on  +44 (0) 1481 725277 or email registrar@guernseyroyalcourt.gg

Inquest

An inquest is an enquiry to obtain reliable answers to four questions; who the deceased was, when, where and how they died.

The Magistrate's Court holds inquests into deaths.

These are held at the request of the Law Officers of the Crown, who are responsible for the preliminary investigations into all deaths where the deceased person may have either met an unnatural or violent end, died in prison, or in other circumstances where for some reason a doctor cannot sign a death certificate.

An inquest is a limited fact-finding inquiry to establish:

1. Who has died
2. Where and when the death occurred
3. How the cause of death arose
4. Information required by the Registrar of Deaths so that the death can be registered

Any civil or criminal proceedings would have to be taken to the Royal Court.