What to do if a person died

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The life hacker tells where to call, what documents to get and what free services to count on if an accident happens.

Where to begin?

The algorithm of actions will depend on where and how the person died and at what stage your active participation is required.

1. If everything happened with you or you find a body, read the entire material.
2. If the person dies in the hospital, the body will be sent to the morgue. To understand what to do next, start reading from the card "Is it necessary to do an autopsy?"
3. If a person died in another city and you need to go there and carry out all the necessary activities, also read the entire material. If there is someone there to deal with the paperwork, but the funeral will take place in your settlement, start with the "How to transport a body to another city" section.
4. If a person died abroad, his death will have to be registered differently than in Russia - go to the card "How to transport a body from another country?"

Where to call first?

You need to call a doctor. If a person died with you, call an ambulance. There remains a chance that you jumped to conclusions and doctors will be able to revive him. But for this it is better to say that the person has lost consciousness - otherwise the doctors will not rush to you.

If you find the body of a deceased person during working hours, call the local doctor of the district clinic. Also call the ambulance at other times.

Ambulance phone: 03 for a landline phone or 103 for a mobile phone. Look for the contacts of the district doctor on the website of the clinic.

Do you need to call the police?

In most cases, you will have to do this. The police must find out if the death was violent or of natural causes. They will examine the body to record the presence or absence of injuries, bruises, scratches, bites, and draw up an appropriate protocol.

If the deceased was aged and was ill for a long time, you can start with an ambulance and leave the need to call the police at the discretion of the doctors.

Police phone: 02 for a landline phone or 102 for a mobile phone.

What to do while waiting for the ambulance and the police?

Gather the documents that both departments will need:

1. Deceased's passport.
2. Your passport.
3. The compulsory medical insurance policy of the deceased (useful only for the ambulance).

What documents do I need to get from the ambulance and the police?

Physicians must state death and draw up two protocols - examination and establishment of death. Be sure to get a death certificate from them. - this document is required for further actions.

The police will issue a report on the examination of the body if a person has passed away from natural causes. The document will come in handy when obtaining a death certificate. If the police have doubts about the reasons for the death, the body will be taken for forensic examination. Depending on its results, a decision will be made to initiate a criminal case.

A ritual agent to call?

There is a chance that the ritual agent will come to you before the ambulance, even if you don’t call him. These firms receive data on deaths from physicians for a fee. The agent will try to play on your stress and force you to enter into a contract. But you don't have to.

The help of a funeral service firm can make it easier for you to organize your funeral. But it is better to ask for recommendations from friends who have recently faced a similar misfortune, to compare offers. Otherwise, the funeral will be very expensive.

If you contact the agent, he will help with further actions. But all this can be done independently.

What to do with the body?

If doctors or police officers did not find reasons for a mandatory autopsy, the decision of what to do with the body is made by the relatives.

It can be left at home if the person has been ill for a long time and the cause of death is obvious. How you will prepare the body for the funeral is not regulated by law in this case. Some funeral services provide services for embalming, bathing, and so on at home.

Also, the body can be sent to the morgue. By law, it can stay there for 7 days free of charge. The term increases to 14 days if close relatives, due to circumstances beyond their control, cannot pick up the body for burial earlier.

How to send a body to the morgue?

Ambulance doctors must call orderlies to deliver the deceased to the morgue. It's free. The situation is similar if the police questioned the cause of death.

If a person dies in a hospital, the body will definitely be sent to the morgue.

If you first refused the services of the morgue, and then changed your mind, then you will have to look for a special vehicle for transporting the body - the easiest way to do this is through a ritual agent. But you will have to pay for his help.

Do you have to do an autopsy?

An autopsy can be refused "for religious and other reasons" if close relatives write a statement. But this is not always possible.

An autopsy is mandatory if:

1. There is a suspicion of a violent death.
2. It is impossible to establish the cause of the incident.
3. The deceased was in hospital for less than a day.
4. There is a suspicion of an overdose of drugs or an allergic reaction to them.
5. Death is related to medical manipulation.
6. The patient had an infectious disease or suspected it.
7. The cause of death is related to an environmental disaster.
8. A woman died in childbirth or immediately after, as well as a pregnant woman.
9. The child died before 28 days of life or was born already dead.
10. We need a forensic examination.

What documents do you need to complete?

Before you start organizing a funeral, you need to prepare the relevant documents. Start with a medical death certificate. He will be handed out in the morgue if the body is sent there, or in the clinic to which the deceased was assigned, if he stayed at home.

You will need the following documents:

1. Death certificate.
2. Body examination protocol.
3. Deceased's passport.
4. Your passport.
5. Outpatient card of the deceased with a postmortem epicrisis.
6. The compulsory medical insurance policy of the deceased.

Then, with a medical certificate, the passport of the deceased and your passport, go to the registry office or the MFC, where you will be given a stamped death certificate and a death certificate in form No. 33.

If the violent death is confirmed, you need to get from the police and bring with you also a burial permit.

How to transport a body to another city?

If a person died in one settlement, and it is planned to bury him in another, the body must be transported.

The law allows burial not at the place of registration. It is important here what the person himself wanted. And you are the executor of his will.

You will have to deliver the body to another city for burial at your own expense.

You can order a special transport from the morgue of the city where a loved one died through a funeral agency or a cargo transportation service. Depending on the time of transportation, you need to make a decision on embalming the body: if you travel for more than a day, you need to order this service at the morgue.

In the hometown, the body can be placed in the morgue for storage until burial, or left at home if it is embalmed.

How to transport a body from another country?

Register death

1. If the deceased was insured, contact the insurance company and report the accident: you need to get a medical certificate of death. If insurance has not been taken out, contact your local hospital. Check with the hotel or the landlord where the deceased is staying for contacts.
2. Report the death to the local police station - you need to get a body examination report.
3. Contact the consular section of the Embassy of the Russian Federation with a request to register the fact of the incident in their register.
4. Get a stamped death certificate of the country where the accident occurred. After that, it is necessary to perform a notarized translation of this document into Russian.

Arrange body delivery

1. Go to the morgue to have the body embalmed and placed in a zinc coffin.
2. Contact the Russian consulate with a free-form application for assistance in the repatriation of the body.
3. Order body transportation to and from the airport of departure.

To avoid problems at the airport, you will need the following documents:

1. Deceased's passport.
2. Death certificate.
3. Medical certificate of death.
4. The act of sealing the zinc coffin, which will indicate that there are no extraneous investments in it.
5. Permission from the consulate of the country where the cargo is sent 200.

All financial costs are borne by you. In the presence of insurance, part of the costs can be covered by insurance payments, if this is provided for by the contract.

How to decide where to bury the deceased?

You can betray a person to the earth:

1. At a cemetery open for free burials - the site is provided free of charge.
2. At the cemetery where a close relative is buried, if there is a place near the burial or after the expiration of the sanitary period since the previous burial (established by the local authorities).

You can find out information about the available burial places in the city administration.

To get a plot in an open cemetery, you need to provide it to the administration:

1. Your passport.
2. Stamp death certificate issued by the registry office.

It is impossible to choose a place for a grave; it is determined by the administration of the cemetery.

To bury a person next to his close relative, you need to present:

1. Your passport.
2. Stamp death certificate.
3. A marriage or birth certificate to confirm the relationship of the deceased with the previously buried person.
4. Burial passport, which indicates the number of the site, the person in charge, information about the buried. If there is no such document, it can be obtained from the cemetery administration.

You can also purchase a clan burial site in a public cemetery. The procedure may differ from city to city - please contact your local administration.

And if the body is decided to be cremated?

You need to find out where the cremation is carried out, and contact this organization. You will need:

• Your passport.
• Stamp death certificate issued by the registry office.

For an urn with ashes, you can later rent a place in the columbarium - for this, add a certificate of cremation to the package of documents. The urn can also be buried in the place of the ancestral burial or buried in the traditional way - here you also need a certificate of cremation.

What if the deceased wanted to bequeath the body to science or donate to organs?

In order to provide a body for use in medical, scientific and educational purposes, the deceased during his lifetime must write a corresponding statement and certify it with a notary.

If no wishes were left on this score, the decision is made by family members. In practice, there is a presumption of consent, that is, any adult who did not sign the refusal statement during his lifetime is a potential donor after death. In this case, his relatives have the right to apply for disagreement with the removal of organs if they consider it unethical or simply do not want to.

How to organize a funeral?

There is no universal scenario: it largely depends on the religious beliefs of the deceased and his relatives, traditions, and so on. In these matters, it is better to consult with spiritual mentors and local old-timers. So you will choose, for example, in what clothes to dress the deceased. Most often, a funeral consists of three stages:

1. Farewell is a civil funeral service or religious sacrament.
2. Burial.
3. Wake.

You need to order a coffin (it is also needed for cremation), digging a grave (if necessary), transport for transporting the coffin with the body, accompanying paraphernalia. Agree to rent a place where the farewell will take place (if necessary), notify the date and time of people who would like to accompany the person on their last journey.

To prepare the deceased for funeral, he must be washed and dressed. If the body is in the morgue, clothes must be brought in the day before the funeral. Employees must wash, dress the deceased and put them in a coffin for free, but you will have to pay extra for embalming and complex cosmetic procedures.

To pick up the body, you will need:

1. Your passport.
2. Stamp death certificate from the registry office.
3. Receipt for payment of funeral services (there must be a coffin, a place in the cemetery ordered and a special transport booked).

Will the state help you somehow?

Social allowance for burial

By law, every Russian is entitled to a burial allowance. Its base size is now 5,946, 47 rubles, but in some regions this amount is higher due to local surcharges.

You can receive social benefits no later than six months after the death of a person.

If the deceased was unemployed, contact the Social Welfare Office and bring the following documents:

• application for payment of social benefits in free form;
• Your passport;
• death certificate in form No. 33;
• documents confirming that at the time of death the person was unemployed.

If the deceased worked, submit to the accounting department of his company:

• application for payment of social benefits;
• Your passport;
• death certificate in form No. 33;
• work book.

If a pensioner dies, go to the Pension Fund and take with you:

• application for payment of social benefits;
• Your passport;
• death certificate in form No. 33;
• documents confirming that the deceased was a pensioner.

Increased social security benefits and space in a closed cemetery

An increased amount of social benefits is established for the following categories of deceased:

• victims of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant;
• military personnel and veterans of military service;
• police officers and firefighters;
• participants of the Second World War.

Beneficiaries can be buried in any cemetery, including in a closed or military section of such a cemetery. In addition, a memorial headstone will be installed free of charge.

Oksana Krasovskaya leading lawyer of the European Legal Service

Regional legislation may establish other categories of citizens and additional services. For example, veterans, people with disabilities and home front workers who live in Moscow receive additional benefits.

To receive an increased amount, you need to include in the package of documents a paper confirming such a right, and contact the department of social protection (for Chernobyl victims), the military registration and enlistment office (for the military) or another department that oversees a specific category of beneficiaries.

Social funeral

Social funeral is a guaranteed list of burial services paid by the state. By law, it includes:

1. Registration of documents.
2. Provision and delivery of a coffin and other items required for burial.
3. Transportation of the body or remains of the deceased to the cemetery or crematorium.
4. Burial or cremation with the subsequent issuance of an urn with ashes.

The preferential category includes:

• people who are not officially employed;
• pensioners;
• stillbirths not earlier than 154 days of gestation.

There is no order and terms established on a federal scale, and social funerals are not held everywhere, everything is decided at the regional level.

Oksana Krasovskaya

To organize such an option, it is necessary to obtain an order for a free burial in the department of social protection of the population and submit it along with the rest of the documents (the applicant's passport, stamp certificate of death and certificates confirming the right to a free funeral) to the city specialized service for funeral affairs.

You can choose from one thing: welfare funeral benefits or organizing a social funeral.

Social funeral is a minimal set of services without any guarantees of quality. As a rule, they are chosen by people in a critical financial situation.