Bereavement

• Bedford Bereavement Services

  We offer impartial help, support and guidance on all aspects of bereavement including memorialisation.
  
  Phone (to make an appointment)
  01234 718150
  
  Website
  www.bedford.gov.uk

• Cruse Bereavement Bedfordshire

  For those who need help, Cruse Bedfordshire offers people in Bedfordshire and Luton bereavement support. The service is free and open to anyone over the age of 18. Our policy is to treat each bereaved person as an individual with their own needs and to offer the support that is appropriate to them at this particular time in their life.
  
  Phone
  0300 200 4108
  
  Website
  www.crusebedfordshire.org.uk

In the unfortunate event that a person has passed away, there are three things that must be done in the first few days;

• Get a medical certificate from your GP or hospital doctor (this is necessary to register the death)
• Register the death within 5 days (8 days in Scotland). You will then receive the necessary documents for the funeral.
• Make the necessary funeral arrangements.

Register the death

If the death has been reported to the coroner (or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland) they must give permission before registering the death.

You can register the death if you are a relative, a witness to the death, a hospital administrator or the person making the arrangements with the funeral directors.

You can use the ‘Register a Death’ page on the gov.uk website that will guide you through the process. This will also explain the registration process for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Arrange the funeral

The funeral can usually only take place after the death is registered. Most people use a funeral director, though you can arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral directors

Choose a funeral director who’s a member of one of the following:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• National Federation of Funeral Directors
• Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

These organisations have codes of practice they must give you a price list when asked.

Some local councils run their own British Humanist Association can also help with non-religious funerals.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Contact the cemeteries and crematorium department of your local council to arrange a funeral yourself.

Funeral costs

Funeral costs can include:

• funeral director fees
• things the funeral director pays for on your behalf (called ‘disbursements’ or ‘third-party costs’), for example, crematorium or cemetery fees, or a newspaper announcement about the death
• local authority burial or cremation fees

Funeral directors may list all these costs in their quotes.