BRITISH FUNERAL PROCEDURES - WONDERS WILL NEVER CEASE!

Posted here on 11/3/2014.

 

This article came from Uganda Muslim Brothers And Sisters  mailgroup.

 

BRITISH  FUNERAL  PROCEDURES

 

Brothers and sisters, Asalaam Alaikum.

 

Many friends have asked why it is taking so long for the late Dr. Asadu, a British Citizen of Ugandan descent; who passed away on Saturday 1 March, 2014, to be buried, even though it may no longer involve transporting the body abroad. Well, I was asking myself the same question until I ventured to find out. Indeed, the death of Dr. Asadu has provided me with a great learning experience into the way the system operates.

 

 There is a long activity of reporting the death to several agencies and getting clearances and confirmations of death. There are files to be closed and opened, sometimes requiring the hiring a lawyer to avoid going overboard with the process. But even when you hire a lawyer, there are certain things which have to be attended to by the family and friends, and especially the spouse or children.

 

First, the death has to be reported to the local authorities. You have to work with the family doctor or with the doctor who was in charge of the deceased up to the time of his/her death. The doctor will give you a medical certificate showing the cause of death.

 

After you have reported the death, you will be given a formal notice stating that they have signed the medical certificate and telling you how to get the death registered. Next, the state has to appoint a funeral director as in the case of Dr. Asadu who was British citizen, or you will have to hire one at your cost if you are a non-citizen.

 

Then you have to appoint a funeral director. If the person dies in hospital, as was the case with Dr. Asadu, the body will usually be kept in the hospital mortuary until the process has been completed and the funeral directors arrange for the body to be taken away.

 

You must register the death with the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths for the district where the death occurred.

 

The registrar will need:

•  the medical certificate showing the cause of death, signed by a doctor

• the full name of the deceased person (and any other names he/she once had, such as a maiden name)

• the date and place of death

• the usual address of the deceased

• their date and place of birth

• their most recent occupation

• whether or not the deceased person was receiving a pension or other benefits

• the name, occupation and date of birth of their spouse

• the deceased person’s medical card or NHS (National Health Service) number

• the deceased person’s birth and marriage certificates.

 

The registrar will then give you:

• a certificate of registration of death

•a certificate for burial (known as the Green Form) which gives permission for the body to be buried.

• a death certificate, which you have to pay for.  

The death certificate will be needed for the will to be read, and any claims to be made for pensions, savings, dealings with banks and life insurance companies.

 

• If the deceased person left any money, property or other assets, these have to be evaluated to deduct the cost of the funeral (if necessary), as the funeral costs take precedence over any debts. Even banks may release money from the person’s account to pay funeral costs. Most funeral directors will ask for immediate payment.

 

Before you decide how or where a person will be buried, you must get answers to the following:

 

• The cost funeral director’s services

• The cost of burial materials such as coffin and cement where applicable

• The cost of transfer of the deceased person from the place of death

• The cost of care or the body before the funeral

• The cost of all the necessary arrangements and paperwork.

• Buying a new burial plot and burial fees

• Transport costs for the body (a body cannot be transported in ordinary vehicles).

 

You need to do the following:

 

•You need to notify tell the tax office of the death as soon as possible.

• The driver’s licence should be returned to the DVLA and the passport to the UK Passport Agency.

-You must also notify the following of the death:

- personal or occupational pension scheme providers

- insurance company

- bank and building society

- employer or trade union

- mortgage provider, housing association or council

housing office

- social services, or social work department in Scotland,

if the person was getting any community care services

or equipment

- utility companies such as gas and electricity suppliers

- The personal doctor (if he/she does know yet), dentist, optician and anyone else providing medical care.

• You should also register the name and address of the deceased person with the Bereavement Register. The Bereavement Register puts a stop to mail being sent to people who have died.

 

• You should report the death to the tax office so that the tax paid by the family can be reduced by 25%, and also to assess the deceased property to see whether the beneficiaries qualify to pay inheritance tax.

 

• It is indeed a detailed and sometimes complicated system. Even the citizens often find it tiring. And while all this is taking place, or at least most of it, the person cannot be buried. For the system, once someone has died, his burial cannot be treated as an emergency.

 

In addition to all the above, if the body is to be transported abroad, the additional costs are significant. The body itself costs about five times as much as a living person. In addition, the funeral directors accompany the body (up to Entebbe in our case) and hand it over to an ambulance. Even the airlines make special arrangements to properly package the body and to reserve a place where it can be transported as respectable cargo.

 

A few of the procedures are religion specific and may not apply to all, but nearly everything I have said above applies across the board.

 

I hope this throws some light on what may be taking place now.

Once again, I convey to all the Muslims of Uganda my condolences upon the loss of this very productive citizen and Muslim asset.

 

Abasi Kiyimba, PhD
Professor
Department of Literature
Makerere University &
Staff Senate Representative,
School of Languages, Literature and Communication