07/08/2026
Planning for your future
When we are old enough to think about what we would like to do when we leave school, we start thinking about our future Job, the house we would like to live in, the type of car we would like to drive and how our lives might look. We do not think about how our funeral might look, but something we should think about as we start to get older.
Would the persons responsible for your arrangements know what to do at the time of need, when they are emotionally distressed and not in a position to think clearly.
Do they know what Funeral Director to use?
Are there a funeral plan or funeral wishes in place?
Do they know if you want a Burial or Cremation?
Do they know who you would like to take the service, and is it Religious or Non-Religious?
Do they Know your music choices?
When someone dies the death can be expected or unexpected.
An expected death may involve Palliative Care input or Hospital, Hospice or Care/Nursing Home care. This sort of death is relatively straight forward as the death is usually verified by the Medical Professional present or the GP. You would contact your Funeral Director to facilitate transfer into their care from the setting in which they have passed away and to start making funeral arrangements. The Medical Certificate of cause of Death(Form 11) is usually sent from the GP to the Registry Office electronically, but on some rare occasions the GP may still do a written copy and make it available for collection. You should contact a registry office, this can be done anywhere in Scotland but must be done within eight days of the death taking place, to inform of the death and give your details to them. The registrar will contact you when they are ready to register the death and make an appointment to do this. You may be subject to a review, which is an audit of deaths in Scotland and is totally random. Once the registration has taken place a form will be sent to your chosen Funeral Director, which is their instruction that the death has been registered and bookings can be made (Form 14).
An unexpected death is a death were there was no indication of any medical problems that could have contributed to the persons death and that medical investigations had been taking place for. These deaths may have happened suddenly and may have involved the Ambulance Service being called, the Ambulance Crew will issue you with a Confirmation of Death form. The Police will most definitely be called for this type of death, but this does not mean there is anything untoward. The Police need to determine no crime has taken place and to generate a report for the Procurator Fiscal. You may be asked to contact your Funeral Director, and to instruct them that the death is a medical death and that no interventions can take place until directed to do so. The police may instruct their contractor to transfer the person who has died into the care of the Fiscal. Both cases may result in a Post-Mortem taking place, but the medical death could also after discussion be referred to the GP to complete the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death. Post-Mortems may be completed at Forth Valley Royal Infirmary or the City Mortuary in Edinburgh for the East and The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Glasgow for the West. This may take as long as it takes to satisfy the Fiscal as a cause of death and cannot be influenced or rushed, though you may get a cause of unascertained pending further investigation. This is to allow a funeral to take place and to prevent further delays. Once this process has taken place the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death will be issued, registration can take place and the form 14 issued.
Registration of Death
The death must be registered in Scotland within eight days and can be registered in any registry office in Scotland. To register a death in Scotland you must have an issued Medical Certificate of Cause of Death or in the event of a death during pregnancy the certificate issued by your Midwife or Health Professional. You will be asked some details about the person who has died and about yourself, and the death registration will be completed when the relevant information has been gained. The form 14 will be sent to your Funeral Director electronically so you do not need to do anything. You will be asked if you wish the tell us once service, the answer to this is yes. The tell us once notifies all the government offices such as pension, benefits, passport, and DVLA of the persons death. You will be offered the free copy of the death certificate; you should take this and purchase a few copies of the paid version. The free copy does not have the cause of death, so the paid version is needed for any insurance policies or Bank Accounts.
Funeral Arrangement
Please make sure you have had some discussion with your loved ones about your wishes or your Funeral Director. This may be a formal funeral plan with a provider such as Golden Charter or Golden Leaves, but may also be a not so formal thing such as a Funeral Wishes. The difference between both is that with the Funeral Wishes no funds are paid, but your requirements are still documented and kept on file and an estimate is provided to let you know of the costs associated with your wishes. The costs will increase at your time of need, but this is also true with a formal funeral plan. Your family may be asked to pay any costs above the amount covered by the plan.
Please discuss wither you wish an attended or Direct Cremation, or a burial. Who would you like to take the service, Religious or Non-Religious. Discus music, flowers, where you want people to go for a funeral tea and if you wish a collection in your memory and for what cause. Please discus your type of coffin, remember this does not need to be plain wood as there is several choices available, though a bespoke coffin will be a little more expensive and will need to be ordered. If a cremation, please give instruction for the destination of your cremated remains.
The Funeral Invoice
If your family have Power of attorney or Financial Guardianship for you this will stop after your death. Your Bank Accounts will be deactivated after notification of your passing. Your Funeral Invoice is the first thing paid from your estate and will require a final funeral invoice to be presented to the bank for the funds to be released, they mask for a full copy of the death certificate at this time.
