What to do when somebody dies and you are acting as the Funeral Director

I. If death is unexpected
II. If death is expected

I. If death is unexpected:

Basically this process is the same as if the death was expected, except that a medical examiner must be notified. Call 999 or your local law enforcement agency. If an autopsy is required, tell the coroner that you are acting as the funeral director, and to call you when the body is released.

II. Hospice, hospital, nursing home or at home expected to die:

Make sure everybody understands that the decedent wants what type of burial or cremation, and has designated someone to handle the burial (act as a funeral director). Make sure everyone involved understands this. Once they understand that, they'll help you do what is required.

Before a death can be formally registered, a doctor will need to issue a medical certificate giving the cause of death. In hospital, this is usually done by a hospital doctor, who will hand the certificate to you in a sealed envelope addressed to the National Registration Department (Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Malaysia) Registrar of Births, Deaths, Marriages & Divorce. You will also be given a notice, explaining how to register the death. There is no charge for either of these.

A hospital may ask you for permission to carry out a post-mortem examination to learn more about the cause of death. You do not have to agree to this.

In some cases, a doctor may not be able to issue a medical certificate of the cause of death. There may be a number of reasons for this. If the doctor isn't able to issue a medical certificate, they will refer the death to the coroner. The coroner may order a post mortem examination. You do not have the right to object to a post-mortem ordered by the coroner, but you should tell the coroner if you have religious or other strong objections.

You'll need to know the following for the bureau's registrar, who will help you to fill out the death certificate. (The record must be typewritten in black ink. Instructions on how to complete the forms are included on the form itself.)

1.Decedent's name (First, Middle, Last)
2. Sex of decedent
3. Date of birth (Month, Day, Year)
4. Age
5. Date of Death (Month, Day, Year)
6. Birthplace (City and State, or Foreign Country)
7. County of death
8. Place of death
9. City, town, or location of death
10. Marital Status
11. Surviving spouse (If wife, given maiden name)
12. Residence (their last address) of decedent
13. Residence--state, county, city, town, or location; street address
14. Occupation and industry of decedent
15. Decedent's race (Specify the race/races to indicate what the decedent considered himself/herself to be. More than one race can be specified)

16. Decedent's education

17. Father's and mother's names (First, Middle, Last)

18. Informant's name, address, and relationship to the decedent

19. Whether the person was receiving a pension or other social security benefits.

20. Place of disposition (name of cemetery or other place) and location of place of final disposition.

Death certificate

The death certificate is a copy of the entry made by the registrar in the death register. This certificate is needed to deal with money or property left by the person who has died, including dealing with the will. You may need several copies of the certificate, for which there will be a charge.

It is a Criminal Offense not to register a death.

The death should be registered by one of the following (in order of priority):-

• a relative who was present at the death
• a relative present during the person's last illness
• a relative living in the district where the death took place
• anyone else present at the death
• an owner or occupier of the building where the death took place and who was aware of the death
• the person arranging the funeral (but not the funeral director).

You cannot delegate responsibility for registering the death to anyone else.

You must take with you the medical certificate of death, since the death cannot be registered until the registrar has seen this. If possible, you should also take the person's birth and marriage certificates. The registrar will want from you the following information:-

• the full name of the person (including maiden name) and
• the person's date and place of birth
• and, in the case of a woman who was married or widowed, full name and occupation of her husband
• if the person was still married, the date of birth of their husband or wife

Donations of organs for transplant or the body for medical research.

Some people would have registered with the National Transplant Resource Centers. In Malaysia to donate their body or parts of their bodies for medial education research. They would have also told their relatives about this. When the person dies, the relative should contact the NTRC who would advice what should be done. If a body is accepted (and many bodies are not suitable) the medical school will arrange for eventual cremation or burial. The web address of NTRC is: http://www.malaysiayellowpages.net/organdonation/nation.htm

Will the process of organ donation delay the funeral arrangements?

Not at all! Arrangements for funeral can be made as in any case of death. Following the removal of the organs and tissues, the body will be cleaned & draped and returned to the family within the shortest possible time. Removal of organ and tissues does not interfere with the customary funeral or burial including open casket arrangements.

Funerals

A funeral can take place any time after death and are arranged by the nearest relatives for example, a spouse or civil partner. However, if there are no relatives, anyone close to the person can arrange the funeral instead. Remember a funeral cost may be between RM 3k to a few hundred thousand, so make sure you plan well and ask for pricing first before commitment to the service.

The person may have left instructions (in their will or somewhere else) about the type of funeral they wanted and/or whether they wanted to be buried or cremated. There is no legal obligation for relatives to follow these instructions. In some cases, relatives may want burial or cremation to take place abroad. The rules about this are very complex and the help of a specialist funeral director will be needed. Permission from a coroner is always needed before a body can be sent abroad.

If there are no relatives or friends to arrange a funeral, the local authority or health authority will arrange a simple funeral. The public authority that arranges the funeral will then try to recover the cost from any money left by the person who died.

Funeral directors

Most funerals are arranged through a funeral director (who used to be known as an undertaker). It is important to find a funeral director who belongs to one of the professional associations, such as the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) or churches or religious organization with ties with these associations have codes of practice and complaints procedures.

When you use the services of a funeral director, buyers beware.

This is the web site of the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara Malaysia for Birth, Marriage, Divorce and Death : you can also get the various forms and additional information downloaded from here. http://www.jpn.gov.my/BI/2_3_2_perkahwinan_malaysia_dgn_asing_dimalaysia.php

– it provides costing as well as time taken to complete registration. Some examples attached:

1. NORMAL REGISTRATION OF DEATH

Conditions of Application

• Registration within 24 hours from the time of death
• Fill up JPN.LM02 form and attach supporting documents.

Application Procedure

Submit to the NRD counter:

1. Identity card/Identification document of the deceased
2. Identity card/Identification document of the informer
3. Documentary proof of death
4. Declaration by medical practitioner of cause of death [JPN. LM09 or JPN. LM10 form - (Post-Mortem)]
5. Payment: Free [Section 19, Act 299] for Peninsular Malaysia]

2. LATE REGISTRATION OF DEATH

Conditions of Application

• Registration within 3 days after the normal registration period
• Fill up JPN.LM02 form and attach supporting documents.

Application Procedure
Submit to the NRD counter:

1. Identity card/Identification document of the deceased
2. Identity card/Identification document of the informer
3. Documentary proof of death
4. Declaration by medical practitioner about cause of death [JPN. LM09 or JPN. LM10 form – (Post-Mortem)]
5. Payment: Processing Fee: RM 5.00 [Section 19, Act 299] for Peninsular Malaysia ]