Our premises:
Grey Place House
131 West Blackhall St
Greenock PA15 1YD
Scotland
(At the end of the main shopping street, and 20 minutes from Glasgow Airport)
Telephone:
01475 724248
(at all times)
Facsimile:
01475 720400
Email: info@pbwright.com
Arranging a Funeral
There are several different ways to approach the arrangement of a funeral.
Firstly, you may wish to contact us directly; our postal address, telephone number and email address are listed on the left. Secondly, a form for the supply of arrangement details can be a) printed out, completed and posted to us or b) completed on-line and electronically submitted to our office.
What to do in the event of a death
Practical Necessities
How a Death is Registered
Who May Go and Register a Death
When You Go to the Registrar
The Registrar Will Give You:
People to Inform
Things Which May Need Returned
Payments in Advance
Solicitors
Cremation
Burial
Your Doctor Can Help
About Grief
Grief in Children and Adolescents
Friends and Relatives Can Help
Helpful Hints on Dealing With Grief
Practical Necessities
Following the death of a relative or friend in hospital, there are certain formalities to which you must attend. Contact a funeral director - you don’t have to wait until the medical certificate stating the cause of death is issued.
The hospital should ask you if the funeral will be burial or cremation. If cremation, a second form B & C has to be prepared. This is over and above the Death Certificate and sometimes takes a day or more to get ready. In burial only the Death Certificate is needed and the funeral director should sort out any cemetery forms.
In some cases it may not he possible for the hospital doctor to issue a medical certificate showing the cause of death, (e.g. if the death is referred to the Procurator Fiscal). In these circumstances notify your funeral director and follow his advice.
How a Death is Registered
The death must be registered at an office of Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages as soon as possible, usually within five days of the death (unless the Registrar extends this period). If the death occurs in Scotland, this can be done at any local registration office in the country. An appointment may be required.
If the death has been referred to the Procurator Fiscal, the procedure is slightly different, your funeral director will advise you concerning this. With the certificate from the hospital, (or at the direction of the Procurator Fiscal’s office), go to register the death.
Who May Register a Death
Regulations state that only certain people can register a death with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Deaths in private residence, hospitals, nursing homes, rest homes, etc.:
- The next of kin or a close relative of the deceased.
- A person present at the time of death, if there is no next of kin.
- The occupier, i.e. the Matron or Officer in Charge of a nursing home or rest home, provided they knew of the illness before the death.
- The person causing the disposal of the body, i.e. an Executor, Solicitor or similar
When You Go to the Registrar
You should take the following:
- The medical certificate of the cause of death.
- The deceased’s medical card, if possible.
You should tell the registrar:
- The date and place of death.
- Last (usual) address.
- First names and surname (and the maiden name if applicable).
- Date and place of birth.
- Occupation and the name and occupation of husband (if applicable).
- Whether he or she was receiving a pension or allowance from public funds.
- If married, the date of birth of the surviving partner
The Registrar Will Give You:
A Certificate for Burial or Cremation, (White Form 14 and also a Green Form for D.S.S.). The Procurator Fiscal does not issue an Order for Burial, but will issue a Cremation Form E1, which replaces the doctors forms B & C, when a sudden death occurs.
A Certificate of Registration of Death which needs to be sent to Department of Social Security. You will be able to purchase a Certified Copy or Extract of Registration, which is needed for any pension claims, insurance policies, financial matters. Normally one or two copies will bc sufficient.
People to Inform
There are various people, companies and other interested parties who need to be informed of the death, and others who ought to be informed.
- Local social services if meals on wheels, home help, day centre transport was used.
- Any hospital the person was attending.
- The Family Doctor.
- The local Inland Revenue office.
- The local D.S.S. office to cancel pensions, allowances and benefits.
- Any employer or trade union.
- A child’s or young person’s teacher, employer or college.
- Car insurance company. People driving a car insured in the deceased’s name are not legally insured.
- Local offices of British Gas, Electricity, British Telecom, Royal Mail, Local Newsagent. If receiving Housing Benefit / Council Tax Benefit, the local housing department should be informed, a1so if living in property rented from the council.
- Any landlord if in rented accommodation.
Things Which May Need Returned
Items such as order books and giro cheques will have to be returned to the appropriate Social Security office.Make a note of any pension book or order book numbers before you send them back.
Passport, driving license, car registration documents, membership cards and National Insurance papers must all be returned to the relevant offices.
Check for any library books that might need returned, also if there was any NHS equipment being used it will need to be returned to either the hospital or health centre from where it came.
It can be difficult enough dealing with bereavement without having to deal with property, possessions and personal matters. For this reason it is advisable to contact a solicitor to help with such matters.
Future financial help may be required, it is quite possible that you may qualify for help from the state. There is a free telephone enquiry line for Social Security. They should be able to help with any general benefit enquiry and will give you advice on how you go about claiming.
Claim forms can be obtained from benefit offices or post offices.
Payments in Advance
As part of our service we will always, in compliance with the Office of Fair Trading and the National Association of Funeral Directors, issue an estimate of all charges. On receipt of this, or before the funeral takes place, we ask that a payment in advance be made to cover all 3rd party expenses (e.g. Crematorium or Cemetery charges, press announcements, flowers, clergy gifts etc).
Solicitors
A Will discloses the names of the executors or the persons legally entitled to deal with an estate. Your solicitor will assist you with the administration of the estate and any questions in relation to taxation that may arise.
Any account sent to a solicitor will be subject to added interest at a rate of 1.5% per month after 30 days, therefore we would appreciate the family settling the account and then being reimbursed from the estate.
Cremation
No one can be cremated until the cause of death is definitely known. There are certain forms that you will be required to sign. The funeral director will complete Form A – the application for cremation, the doctors at the hospital will complete Forms B & C, the medical cremation forms, which with Form 14 from the Registrar completes the forms needed for cremation.
Ashes can be scattered in a garden of remembrance or at a favourite spot. They may be buried in a church yard or cemetery where a cremated remains casket lair can usually be purchased or they can be kept. Arrangements may be made for an entry in the Book of Remembrance at the crematorium, for which there is a charge. The funeral director can advise.
Burial
There are few burials in church-yards in the West of Scotland. A grave space may be purchased before or at the time funeral arrangements are made, and a Title Deed issued. Fees vary for Parishioners, and Non-Parishioners. Local Authority charges vary from cemetery to cemetery - your local Minister or Priest may know or ask your funeral director.
Your Doctor Can Help
Your family doctor can be very supportive to recently bereaved people. Contact the surgery if you feel you need help.
About Grief
Bereavement is a distressing experience that all of us encounter at sometime in our lives, yet it is something that is talked about very little in our everyday life.
This being the case, we have very little opportunity to learn about how to cope with loss. You may have lived many years with the person you have lost. It took you many years to learn to live with them, you will not learn to live without them overnight. For some hours or days following the death of someone who is close, many people feel totally stunned. A feeling of disbelief is common, even if the death has been expected, (say after a long period of illness).
Grief is a very personal thing and we each react differently. You may feel bewildered, sad, guilty, hurt or even angry. Over the coming weeks you may feel confused and even physically unwell. Whilst you may have family and friends to help you at the time of the funeral, you may later feel very isolated and seemingly alone to cope with your grief. It may be difficult to relax, concentrate or even sleep properly. Some people experience extremely disturbing dreams, others say that they actually see their loved one everywhere they go, more commonly in the places that they used to spend time together.
These strong, confusing emotions can be felt for quite a while after the death and may be followed by periods of sadness and depression. Grief can be sparked off many months after the death by things that bring back memories. It can be difficult for other people to understand or cope with some of the emotions you show and they may stay away at the time when they are needed most of all.
The phrase "Time is a great healer" is in most cases certainly true, however the pain of losing a loved one never entirely disappears, nor should it be expected to. There is no "standard" way of grieving as we, being individuals have our own ways of dealing with all of life’s trials, not least the loss of someone we love.
Grief in Children and Adolescents
Generally children do not understand the meaning of death until they are three or four years old. Even so, they feel the loss of a close friend or relative in much the same way as adults. Even in infancy it is clear that children grieve and feel great distress.
Children experience the passage of time differently to adults and can therefore appear to overcome grief quite quickly. However, children in their early school years may need reassuring that they are not responsible for the death of a close relative as they often blame themselves for one reason or another. It is important that the grief of a young person is not overlooked as they will often not want to burden parents by talking about their feelings. For this reason they should usually be included in the funeral arrangements.
Friends and Relatives Can Help
Being close to others can be a great source of comfort. It is not always necessary to say anything, just being there is enough. It is important that a bereaved person is able to talk and cry with someone without being told to pull themselves together.
It can also be difficult for people to understand why the bereaved keep covering the same ground, talking and apparently becoming distressed about the same things over again, this is an important part of the healing process and should really be encouraged.
Not mentioning the name of the person who has died for fear of upsetting them can indeed lead to a sense of isolation and can add to the grief of the bereaved.
Another difficult time when friends and relatives can be of help is festive occasions and anniversaries, which can be particularly painful. Practical help with domestic chores and looking after children can all lead to easing the difficulties facing the bereaved. Some bereaved may need more practical help than others, possibly with financial arrangements – paying bills etc.
Helpful Hints on Dealing With Grief
- Try not to hide your feelings; try to bring out into the open whatever you are feeling. Express your feelings as much as possible.
- Talk through what has happened with someone you trust, (e.g. your family, a close friend or appropriate support group).
- It is important not to neglect yourself. Try to eat well and get plenty of rest.
- Don’t enter into any financial or legal arrangements unless you fully understand it.
- Contact your doctor if you feel unwell or would like the doctor to refer you to someone to talk to.
- Give yourself time to overcome your grief. There is no fixed time that it takes to get over bereavement.
- Keep in touch with friends and family – remember that most people feel honoured to be asked to help, so it may be left up to you to ask for it. even though this may be difficult for you.