Funeral and burial

Bolt1234

I am about to have to organise a funeral. My parent has a funeral plan but I have some questions as I have not done anything like this before.

• can I register death in my local area as opposed to where they died? 
• parent wants to buried and has already booked a burial spot. What sort of date should I be aiming for. I am suspecting well into the New Year.

Any tips anyone can give me please generally. I want to get this right!

Flugelhorn

you can register the death in your local area but I think it delays getting the cert as it has to come from the area in which they died - best to ask your local registrar

on the whole burials can usually be arranged more quickly than cremations - you may wish to delay so that people can get there if they wish to attend. 

Savvy_Sue

Flugelhorn said:

you can register the death in your local area but I think it delays getting the cert as it has to come from the area in which they died - best to ask your local registrar

That is certainly what I was advised last time I had to do this. 

Flugelhorn said:

on the whole burials can usually be arranged more quickly than cremations - you may wish to delay so that people can get there if they wish to attend. 

The OP might want to make sure that the paperwork for the burial plot is to hand, and in order. I'm not sure if the OP is preparing for an expected death, or dealing with a recent one, but we are in the former position and have had the benefit of being able to sort out ownership of the grave before we need to ask for it to be opened. The Cemeteries Department will be quite used to sorting these things out after the death (and have been really helpful), but there is a certain amount of paperwork flying about to establish that the current owner of the grave is in it; ownership was inherited by someone who's going to need it quite soon; and those who are trying to sort this out have power of attorney to enable them to take ownership on. 

Bolt1234

Thank you all.  I have the local council certificate with the burial number. I also have a big holiday booked mid Jan and travel insurance should that be needed.  My concern is Xmas is right in the middle.  Parent is going to pass in the next 24 hours and is in hospital. 

Is it completely out of the question to have the funeral in Feb?

Bolt1234

I have POA but I know it’s obsolete on a death

hjd

My neighbour's partner died in early April and the funeral wasn't till late May - one of the deceased's sons was abroad and wouldn't be back till then, so funeral was delayed.
This was a cremation.

Flugelhorn

perfectly possibly to wait as long as you like - people often wait for family to arrive from abroad etc  - a dear friend's funeral was probably at least 6 weeks one of the many delays was that one of the clergy was somewhat involved with a Royal Wedding at the time.

Just take a deep breath when all this happens - it will all sort out and the people invovled are generally very helpful  and used to making things happen at the right time . 

There is a huge temptation to run around and DO STUFF but there is no need to rush and you can set things for the time you want.

Marcon

Bolt1234 said:

Thank you all.  I have the local council certificate with the burial number. I also have a big holiday booked mid Jan and travel insurance should that be needed.  My concern is Xmas is right in the middle.  Parent is going to pass in the next 24 hours and is in hospital. 

Is it completely out of the question to have the funeral in Feb?

Not at all. You may find that's the earliest date available. 

You know your parent has a funeral plan, so read that carefully, as soon as you can face doing so, because it will set out what is covered, whether you have to use a particular funeral director and a whole host of other relevant information. Incidentally, a good funeral director is a fantastic help, especially if you've never had to organise a funeral before. 

kipsterno1

Bolt1234 said:

• can I register death in my local area as opposed to where they died? 

Yes this is possible. When you book your appointment make it clear that the death occurred elsewhere.  All details are recorded the same and you pay for any certificates you require at the time but these are then issued by a registrar in the authority area of the death. These will then be sent out to you by post. You will also need a 'green form' which you provide to the undertakers but that should be explained to you during the appointment and arranged.

We had a delay in arranging our fathers cremation of six weeks by choice due to a family member being ill and that was no issue with the undertakers. 

JGB1955

My father's funeral was delayed by 8 weeks back in June 2020 as my brother lives abroad and we (naively) thought that Covid would be done and dusted and all travel restrictions removed by then.  Sadly not.  10 of us at the funeral - my brother stuck 7,000 miles away for another year.

Brie

My MiL recently died and we delayed her service as I needed to be out of the country to deal with my own mom.  It actually made it easier to get a convenient date and time for those that had to come some way to the service.  My OH did find the wait a bit trying as it delayed closure for him.

Ultimately though you are the customer and get to set the agenda.

Sorry that you're having troubled times.