Frequently Asked Questions

First of all take a deep breath and some time to compose yourself as there will be a lot of information and process to go through during the next few weeks. Lean on other members of the family and/or friends for help and advice too and bear in mind that you are going to be in an extremely emotional state and susceptible to making rash decisions. So, do things in your own time. If you haven’t chosen, or nominated, a funeral director prior to the death of your loved one, do have a look around and see who you feel comfortable with. Once chosen, they will be able to guide you through the next steps.
When someone dies in England & Wales the first distinction that is made is whether the death was expected or not. If it was not expected, or there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death it will be referred to HM Coroner, and specialist guidance is given below.

If the death was expected and occurs during the day at home, you should call the deceased’s GP. They will usually attend in person and to verify the death. If the death occurs overnight or at a weekend then you will need to ring 111, or the hospice nurse if you are under the care of your local hospice. The on call doctor or hospice nurse will attend, but this might take some time. Once they have attended and verified the death, you should call your chosen funeral director and they will attend any time of the day or night and take your loved one into their care.
Thereafter, the your loved ones’ death will be notified via the GP to the Medical Examiner who will scrutinise the death and direct the issue of the MCCD by the GP. It will be emailed to the Registrar.

If the death was expected and occurs in a care home the staff can verify the death if they are qualified, or they will call the deceased’s GP (during the day) or 111 (at night). Once the death has been verified they will then call your nominated funeral director to attend at any time of the day or night to take your loved one in their care.
Thereafter, the your loved ones’ death will be notified via the GP to the MR who will scrutinize the death and direct the issue of the MCCD by the GP. It will be emailed to the Registrar.

Where the death could reasonably have been foreseen a doctor or nurse will usually verify that the person has died. Thereafter, the your loved ones’ death will be notified via the GP to the MR who will scrutinize the death and direct the issue of the MCCD by the GP. It will be emailed to the Registrar.
You might expect to have discussions with both the MR and the hospital’s bereavement department.

If the death occurs overseas you will need to arrange for the repatriation of the body, either back to the UK or to the deceased’s home country. Usually this is undertaken by an insurance company and your loved one delivered to us. Where this is not the case Welham Jones has an experienced repatriation team and can provide no obligation advice and/or arrange for the repatriation of your loved one to or from anywhere in the world. One point to bear in mind is that any death is registered only once and where the death occurred.

The death must be registered with the Register Office in the registration district in which the death occurred, by either an executor of the deceased’s will, a person present at the death or a person arranging the funeral with the funeral director. You will need to book your appointment, which can be done online.
From September 2024 deaths will legally have to be registered within five working days of the issue of the MCCD.
If you live a long way away from the deceased, or they died a long way from home, registration by declaration at a Register Office nearer to you is possible, but doing so will delay the funeral by up to two weeks.

In England and Wales, you must register the death of a person within ten days at their local Registrar’s Office.

As well as the medical certificate with the cause of death, it is helpful to take any of the following documents belonging to the deceased that you have:
 birth certificate
 driving licence
 passport
 proof of address
 marriage certificate
 marital status – and if a married woman, their spouse’s full name and occupation
 any other official documentation, if you have it

The 2024 reforms to the death certification process have greatly reduced the number of forms families need to complete when arranging a funeral. For all funerals the authority to bury or cremate, the ‘green’, which is supplied by the Registrar. For a cremation the only other form now required is the Cremation Form 1, which will usually be completed with your chosen funeral director. For a burial a cemetery or local authority application form will be completed. Where the service is held in a private of local authority service chapel, a preliminary form, the Prelim’, outlining the service details will also be required.

You must tell the Department of Work and Pensions; their ‘Tell Us Once’ service ensures any benefit entitlements are dealt with once you register the death. Simply call 0845 606 0265, or send back the form BD8 (see above) that will be given to you.

You will also need to cancel any accounts, subscriptions or memberships that the deceased had. The sooner you can cancel subscriptions that have fees, the better, but some things don’t need to be done immediately.

People to notify and accounts to close might include:
 landlord
 local council (for council tax)
 banks, building societies, mortgage provider, credit cards
 TV license, streaming services
 social media accounts
 clubs
 regular subscriptions

If the coroner is not involved, we will take the body to one of our state-of-the-art funeral parlours at your local Welham Jones funeral home.

The night before the funeral, we can take the deceased to the church for a Reception of the Body service or to your or their home, if required.

If Welham Jones is arranging the funeral for you, we can arrange private Chapel visits for friend and family prior to the funeral at your local Welham Jones funeral home.

Expected deaths may be referred to the coroner for technical reasons. Unexpected deaths are always referred to the coroner.

If the death is expected, it may be referred to the coroner for technical reasons. The coroner may refer it back to the GP, in which case normal registration procedures will follow.

If the death is unexpected, the coroner is likely to perform a post-mortem to establish the cause of death, before allowing the release of the body for the funeral.

If the coroner decides the death was a result of natural causes and circumstances, they will issue Form 100 (the ‘pink’) to the Registrar to enable you to register the death.

If the death was violent or unnatural, occurred in prison, was due to an industrial disease, or where there is any doubt, the Coroner will order an investigation to determine whether an inquest is required.

If an inquest is not required, normal registration procedures will apply.

If an inquest is required, it will be opened and immediately adjourned. It will reconvene later and will determine the nature and circumstances of the death.

Because the inquest will delay registration, the Coroner will issue an interim Certificate of the Fact of Death to enable probate. This will also allow you to notify the death to the Department of Work and Pensions.

After the inquest, the Coroner will register the death for you.

Where the death was expected its scrutiny has changed recently (and will become mandatory in England & Wales from 9th September 2024), after which all expected deaths will be referred to a Medical Referee (MR). The MR’s function will be to scrutinise all deaths by examining medical records, interviewing doctors and other medical professionals and talking to families to ascertain the cause of your loved ones’ death. The MR will then direct the GP or hospital doctor to issue the MCCD, which will be emailed to the Registrar.

UK residents aged 18 or over can take out a plan. For instalment plans payable over 2 years or more, the final instalment must be paid by your 85th birthday. There are no medical or health questions to answer.

You can add special wishes and requests such as song choices, readings, information for a eulogy and so on. There is no charge to add these details. There may be more to pay if you require additional features, services or upgrades. You can also appoint a nominated representative, who we will keep informed about your plan according to your instructions.

If you move, you should be able to transfer your plan to a funeral director near your new home. However, there may be additional costs depending on local prices. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for details or speak to us for more information.

Yes, we find that many of our customers choose to do this.

Yes, you can make changes to your plan after you have taken it out and once it is fully-paid. Just let us know what you wish to change. There may be an additional cost if you add new features and services to your plan.

The plan covers the funeral director’s costs listed in the plan details as long as your requirements don’t change and your selected funeral director carries out your funeral. The plan can also include an allowance towards third party costs such as cremation, and officiant’s fees. These costs are outside of our control. If these costs, as listed in the plan details, are not covered by the plan value at the time of need, there will be a balance to pay. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for more information.

Yes, you are able to pay over a range of periods. There is an additional cost for paying by instalments over two or more years. Eligibility criteria applies. Please refer to the Instalment Q&A and the Terms and Conditions for more information. Your funeral director will be able to provide you with a personalised quote.

Yes, you can cancel your plan at any time. If you choose to cancel the plan within the cancellation period, you’ll receive a full refund. If you cancel the plan after the cancellation period, you’ll receive a refund of the original amount paid, excluding the administration fee, and any payments to insure an instalment plan.

The plan does not cover the cost of a funeral abroad, or the cost of repatriating the deceased. It is therefore important that your travel insurance policy covers this.

If the deceased had a pre-paid funeral plan or an over 50s life insurance policy, most – or even all – of the funeral costs will already have been paid for, so it is worth checking to find out if there is one in place.

Ask family members or local funeral directors and check their Will and bank or insurance statements to find out.

Membership of the two leading industry bodies is an indication of professionalism: National Association of Funeral Directors and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors.

Word-of-mouth recommendations and local reputation can be valuable ways of understanding if a funeral director will help you arrange the funeral that is right for you and your loved ones. Online reviews and testimonials also give helpful insights.

In the UK, you can opt for either a burial or a cremation. These can be attended or unattended (direct). All services can either be religious, in accordance with your faith, or secular. You can also choose for environmentally friendly funerals.

A direct burial is a simple, unattended burial.

Our Direct funeral package provides for a service at a single place of committal, either a church (with, near or adjacent to a burial ground) or a crematorium, on a date and at a time suitable to you.

A direct cremation is a simple, unattended cremation.

Our Purely Cremation package offers you a cremation at the lowest possible cost, including third party fees*. We will collect your loved one during the normal working day* from their place of death, attend to all the paperwork, provide a suitable coffin and transportation to a crematorium on a day and a time of our choice. We will then collect the cremated remains and hold them for you for three months for you to collect or, at additional cost, send them to you*.

*including for a the small print on the costs

Direct burials and cremations are cheaper options, so they may be appropriate if budget is a consideration. Some families also prefer to have an unattended service and celebrate the life of their loved one at a separate memorial event.

However, you may feel that a direct burial or cremation will not give you the right opportunity to say farewell and pay your last respects to your loved one.

78% of the British population is cremated after death. Cremations are more affordable than burials, due the shortage of available burial space.

Burials provide you with a physical place to visit to connect with your loved one. However, there are limited available burial plots, therefore unless you already have a family plot, it is likely to be more expensive.

If you would like your family to be buried together, you can explore whether it is appropriate to reopen an existing grave, or consider purchasing additional burial sites in a churchyard, cemetery or woodland burial site.

At Welham Jones, we have experience of conducting funerals in accordance with all the major faiths, including Christian, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Sikh. Our expert funeral arrangers will be happy to discuss the options with you.

A secular service, conducted by an officiant, is one of remembrance and celebration. There are a wide range of choices of officiant, venues and personal touches that you can incorporate.

A greener funeral aims to reduce the impact that managing and delivering a funeral, burial or cremation has on the environment, for example through using a biodegradable casket and clothing, and locally grown flowers and food. Greener funerals can also be considerably cheaper and more creative than a traditional funeral, which makes them increasingly attractive.

Burials at sea are no longer just applicable for naval personnel or sailors and are gaining popularity as a ‘green’ option due to concerns and restrictions about environmental pollution and marine conservation.

Usually conducted off the East Sussex coast, at Welham Jones we enlist the help of an ex-RNLI vessel crewed by retired Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel.

REBECCA TO WRITE

Rebecca/Simon to write

If you plan a religious funeral, it will be conducted by an ordained minister of that faith. If you opt for a secular funeral, it will be conducted by an officiant, often a celebrant.

If you plan a religious funeral, it will normally be held in a place of worship connected with your faith.

If you opt for a secular funeral, you can choose from a wide range of venues, such as crematoria chapels, cemetery chapels, village halls, gravesides and woodland burial sites; secular services cannot be held in churches or places of worship.

Woodland burial sites are often a popular choice for eco funerals.

You can hold the funeral service at the same location as the burial or cremation, or you can hold them at separate locations. If they are at different locations, it is up to you whether you invite all attendees to follow the cortege to the crematorium/burial site, or whether this is restricted to just close family and friends, with other guests waiting for your return or proceeding to the wake ahead of you.

Our highly skilled staff will wash and dress the deceased, embalming them as well if you choose this option.

We will endeavour to make sure they look their best (a recent photograph is helpful). We can dress them in their own clothes, or in a gown that we can provide. If required, we can add jewellery or personal possessions (although not all items are suitable for cremation).

When caring for the deceased, we will respect your faith and uphold any customs to which it adheres.

Every funeral is as unique as the life of the deceased. Whether you chose one of our carefully curated packages, or opt to craft a completely bespoke event, there are many ways that you can add personal touches to celebrate the life of your loved one. Popular options include:
• Memorial tributes in their favourite flowers
• Personalised memorial tributes, for example spelling their name or the emblem of their football club
• Playing their favourite piece of music, singing their favourite hymns or live music to reflect their tastes
• Involving family and close friends in the service (see below)
• A bespoke hearse, such as REBECCA please add some of the bespoke hearses you have had
• A personalised coffin [link to personalised coffins], for example wrapped in their favourite colour, decorated by their loved ones or with significant photos printed on it
• Dressing the deceased in their favourite clothes
• Adding personal memorabilia [link to items of remembrance] to the coffin (not all items are suitable for cremation)
• Flags, medals and other significant memorabilia
• A personalised order of service [link to finishing touches] with photos and a biography of the deceased

There are lots of ways to involve those close to the deceased to be a part of the commemoration of their life. They may deliver a reading or the eulogy, they may play a piece of music, help to carry the coffin into the service, or sprinkle earth on the coffin.

Our expert funeral arrangers are able to suggest ways to involve friends and family, or to discuss your suggestions.

A wide range of music is now acceptable at funerals. You will need to discuss your music choices with the minister conducting the funeral or the officiant. Music can generally be recorded or live, depending upon the facilities at the venue.

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Although black is the traditional funeral colour in Britain, more and more funerals are now a celebration of the life of the loved one, and very often families chose a dress code to reflect their personality or their passions. You can ask guests to come in bright colours or even the colours of your loved one’s favourite sports team. However, if no dress code is stated, it is normal etiquette to dress in smart clothes in dark tones.

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Funeral expenses are considered the responsibility of the deceased and are usually dealt with in a person’s Will. Where there is no Will, legal advice should be sought.

The person signing the papers at the funeral director’s enters into a formal contract and takes responsibility for settling the account, so it is important to understand this. This is usually a member of the family, if they are the executor, or a solicitor acting as executor.

You can pay for your own funeral in advance with a prepaid funeral plan or make provision for it through a life insurance policy or savings and/or investments.

Alternatively, a funeral can be paid for from the deceased’s estate; this is generally permitted before the grant of probate, allowing the deceased’s bank to be invoiced directly to settle the account, provided there are sufficient liquid funds.

Make sure that you tell your funeral director how the account is to be settled before signing

Our funerals starts from £1,367.50 for a basic, yet comprehensive, unattended burial or cremation, as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority; bespoke funerals can typically cost up to £xx,xxx. Wakes, food and drink, entertainment (such as live music), videography or photography, are on top of this.

There are different costs, some of which are the funeral director’s costs, and some of which are the fees charged by third parties. Your funeral director can only control the costs of their own fees.

Depending upon the event that you want to shape, potential costs include:
• The funeral director’s fees, covering everything from care for the deceased to on-the-day services, such as a hearse, limousines and pall bearers, as well as after care, such as managing cremated remains
• The coffin: Welham Jones coffins range from around £500 to more than £2,000 – the coffin and your choice of fixtures and fittings will impact the final fee
• Additional and on-the day items, such as a horse-drawn hearse, live musicians, a printed order of service, floral tributes, video streaming, funeral reception hire, catering, memorials
• Third-party costs, including the doctor signing the crematorium form, someone to officiate, as well as the crematorium, church or cemetery

Ways to reduce the costs of a funeral include:
• Choosing a lower-cost coffin
• Choosing cremation instead of burial
• Spending less on flowers
• Not having a limousine
• Gathering at home afterwards, or in a cheaper venue, such as a village hall
• Doing your own catering, or asking guests to bring food or drinks
• A cheaper memorial, or none

Help with the costs of a funeral may be available, depending on your circumstances.

If the deceased left insufficient funds, there is no family, or no-one able to be willing to pay for a funeral, then a basic attended service is paid for by the local authority where the death occurred in the community, or by the hospital trust if the death was in hospital.

Pre-paid funeral plans enable you to pay for your funeral at some time in the future at today’s prices, so the total bill may well be less than if you leave it for your loved ones to pay for your funeral out of your estate when you pass; this will depend upon inflation between the time of you taking out the plan and your passing.

Pre-paid funeral plans can also be paid for in instalments, rather than a lump sum, which can make budgeting for them easier.

You will need a hearse to transport the coffin to the funeral service; this can either be a limousine, a horse-drawn cart, or a personalised hearse to reflect the life of your loved one, such as REBBECA please add – our expert funeral arrangers will be delighted to discuss your ideas.

You may wish to book limousines for family and/or close friends.

The funeral cortege normally takes the shortest route to the venue of the funeral service from the funeral parlour or the deceased’s home; however, you can request to vary the route to pass places of significance to the deceased.

It is normal for immediate family, and sometimes close friends, to follow the hearse. This is down to personal preferences; our funeral arrangers can discuss transport options with you to ensure the deceased gets a proper send-off with the appropriate people included in the cortege.

This is completely down to you. Booking limousines for family to travel in behind the hearse can save them the stress of driving and thinking about logistics on the day, as well as providing an impressive send off for the deceased. However, limousines come at additional cost; if your budget doesn’t stretch to limousines, this does not preclude you from creating a funeral that is a fitting tribute to the life of your loved one.

Burials and cremations are generally around 45 minutes long. The length of the funeral service will depend upon whether you have music, readings and eulogies. Many venues have restrictions on the length of the service, so you will need to check this with your chosen venue.

The etiquette for funerals is changing; many families now prefer to create a celebration of their loved one’s life, rather than a sombre commemoration. The family’s wishes are often included on obituary notices. If nothing is specified, it is normal to wear smart clothes in neutral or dark shades.

Many families these days invite mourners to wear bright colours or clothes in the colour of the deceased’s favourite sports team. Check the obituary notice to see if there is any guidance for guests; if there isn’t, it is normal etiquette to wear smart clothes in dark shades.

Floral tributes are these days often reserved for the family. The family may request donations to a charity relevant to their loved one; check the obituary notice to see the family’s wishes.

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REBECCA to write

What to do with the ashes is a personal choice. If you are not sure, we can keep them for three months while you decide. Common options include:
• Laying them to rest in a crematorium garden of remembrance, often with a memorial or plaque.
• Burying them on other land: if it is privately owned, you will need the permission of the landowner; if it is your land, you will need to check with your local council whether this is permissible.
• Laying them to rest on water: You need permission to scatter the ashes on water from any landowner, following The Environment Agency’s guidelines [LINK to EA guidelines]. They advise using a biodegradable urn for putting ashes into the sea.
• Turning them into keepsakes, such as jewellery.
• Send them to another part of the UK or overseas (an administrative fee is chargeable).
• You can also keep them at home in a casket or urn [LINK to memorabilia] while you make up your mind.

Your loved one can be buried in any official burial site, such as a churchyard, a crematoria cemetery or a woodland burial site. REBECCA – what are the options for burials on private land? – please add

Most cemeteries require at least six months for the ground to settle, giving you time to decide which memorial or headstone is right to commemorate your loved one.

Help with the costs of a funeral may be available, depending on your circumstances.

If the deceased left insufficient funds, there is no family, or no-one able to be willing to pay for a funeral, then a basic attended service is paid for by the local authority where the death occurred in the community, or by the hospital trust if the death was in hospital.

There are many organisations that can provide help at this difficult time; some provide general bereavement support, others provide support tailored for particular circumstances, such as being widowed young, losing a child or after a stillbirth. We have provided links on our Bereavement Support page.