What to do when a parent dies

[robertpasa]

What should you do, if a parent dies in your own home, from natural causes?

Are you required to call the police? (I live in California, if that matters.)
If so, do they give you a form or something?

If you don't want to keep the body for burial or cremation (or other religious or legal reasons), who do you call to move the body away?

Thanks. This has not happened to me but i might, one day.

[jacqueg]

I would call 911, and be guided by them.

IIRC, CA law requires an undertaker to handle the body. Doesn't mean you have to buy whatever other fancy products/services they are offering. But you should check that out for yourself, if you're worried about it.

[robertpasa]

Does anyone know for sure what to do? Calling 911 seems like it's only for emergencies and not death by natural causes.

Related question: is there always a death certificate when somebody dies or is it just in an accident or crime?

If you are to inherit something from a parent do you show the death cert. to the bank?

What do people generally use a death cert. for, if it's death from natural causes?

[convextech]

Call 911. A dead person IS an emergency.


Always a death certificate with cause of death listed.


An attorney should guide you from there regarding any inheritance.

[gatorxxx]

You can call almost any funeral director and they will tell you what you need to do and consider. They will also want to sell their services.


You need a death certificate for banks, tax offices, deed offices and anything legal pertaining to the death of the person.

[Disgustedman]

If you have a felony record, call your lawyer also...just in case...ya know?

[robertpasa]

I've heard horror stories about businesses that handle dead bodies and how they overcharge people.
Fortunately my folks don't want their bodies preserved. If I call 911 and paramedics come and take the body, wouldn't that be the end of it?

[jacqueg]

Originally Posted by robertpasa

I've heard horror stories about businesses that handle dead bodies and how they overcharge people.
Fortunately my folks don't want their bodies preserved. If I call 911 and paramedics come and take the body, wouldn't that be the end of it?

No. Someone has to pay, and if you are the next-of-kin, that someone would be you.

Even if you decided to be really cheap, and dumped the body of your dear departed in a ditch somewhere, the police would track you down. And if they didn't, and your dear departed simply disappeared, you'd have to initiate an expensive - and possibly lengthy - legal process to get your dear departed declared dead, so you could get your mitts on the goodies left behind.

[JustMike77]

Call 911. They will send the Police/Coroner to take the body and make sure there was no foul play.

They will take the body to the morgue. They will not (to my knowledge) cremate or bury the departed for you, this is you or your family's responsibility.

The cheapest route is to call a crematorium directly. They will pick up the departed from the morgue and cremate them. You can then pick up the ashes from the crematorium and do what you want with them.

The morgue should issue the death certificate. There is a way to record it and you should ask them about that. It needs to be recorded in order to turn off social security payments, etc.

You will need a death certificate for the bank, utility companies, basically anything to do with the departed. They should ask you if you want extra copies. One should be enough, the banks make their own copy.

Insofar as you are in California, you will need to disclose the death in your home should you ever decide to sell it.

[robertpasa]

How much do the paramedics charge for taking the body away? I'm not saying I would try to get out of it.