What to do if one of your residents dies

Unfortunately, with the outbreak of coronavirus, you may find yourself having to deal with the death of a resident. We have summarised the information in Standards of Almshouse Management and Support and Care to guide you through what to do in this situation.  

Please note: This guidance was published on 7 April 2020

When a Resident Dies

When a resident dies, it is the next-of-kin who is responsible for dealing with all the affairs associated with the death unless the death is intestate (there is no next of kin).

If the death is intestate, it would need to be referred to the local Social Services office who will deal with all the issues: funeral, financial, wills and clearance of the flat, subject to funds in the estate.

On death, the legal title to all of the resident’s property passes automatically to their personal representative(s), meaning their executor if they made a will, or their administrator under the law on intestacy if they died without a will.

Notifying and Registering the Death

The GP has to be informed immediately when a resident dies in the accomodation whether suddenly or following a period of illness or palliative care.  The GP will certify the death and provide the appropriate death certificate and, where specified, a cremation form. If there is any doubt about the cause of death, the GP may summon the Coroner’s Officer to investigate before issuing a death certificate. If it is not possible for the certificate to be issued immediately, the next of kin will need to collect the certificate from the surgery.

If the charity is a registered or nursing care provider, the Registration Authority needs to be informed of the death, including time, date and cause of death and any referral to the Coroner.

The next of kin should be informed as soon as possible if they were not present at the time of the death.

The death has to be registered by the next of kin with the local Registrar within five days, see link:

https://www.which.co.uk/later-life-care/end-of-life/what-to-do-when-someone-dies/registering-a-death-akmbc3g27psq?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIha2Yk96h6AIViK3tCh0jmgUXEAAYAiAAEgJhEvD_BwE

The charity may also have its own internal procedure for informing the Trustees or the Clerk/Chief Executive. 

Advising Staff and Other Residents

There should be a system in place to notify staff, volunteers, as well as other residents, when a resident dies. 

If you believe the resident died as a result of coronavirus, you will need to contact your local health protection team to organise a deep clean of the property. You can find your local health protection team at:

www.gov.uk/health-protection-team

Clearing an Almshouse Dwelling of Personal Possessions

Usually the licence for a deceased resident officially ends when the keys have been returned and the dwelling is cleared of all possessions. Until such time, the WMC and heating charge is still charged to the deceased resident’s estate. The Trustees may wish to reconsider this during the Covid-19 outbreak and one option may be to freeze the WMC at the time of death and review it once it is safe for the dwelling to be cleared. Alternatively, trustees may opt to defer this altogether and carry this as a void loss.

The dwelling should remain locked until the ‘executor’ is able to remove the personal possessions, clear the flat of all furniture and hand over the keys.  By ‘executor’, it is meant the next of kin or if the resident died without a valid will, their administrator as appointed under the rules on intestacy.

Any information held by the charity in relation to the resident’s pensions, benefits should be passed over to the executor/administrator to assist them in winding up the deceased resident’s affairs. The charity will find it useful to note the details of the executor/administrator or family members involved should there be a need to contact them in the future.

Once the government lockdown restrictions have been lifted, it is reasonable for a charity to ask that the accommodation be cleared of personal possessions within one month and all outstanding arrears, WMC & heating charge, be paid out of any money that is left in the estate.

If access is required to the accommodation prior to the keys being handed over, for example emergency repair, it is advisable that two people (trustees or staff) should enter the property and a photo inventory is taken to safe guard the charity against allegations of theft. The executor/administrator should also be informed of the entry: the names of the two trustees/staff who entered the accommodation, the time, date and the reason for the entry.

Where a resident’s death is intestate and following social services involvement, confirming that there are no funds in the estate to pay for the accommodation to be cleared, the charity will have to undertake this task at its own expense.

Who else to inform

The charity should inform the local authority in order to claim exemption from paying the council tax on the vacant flat for up to 6 months – Class B of the Council Tax (exempt dwellings) Order 1992; the benefits agency; other community organisations that the resident may have been involved with and remind the executer/administrator to inform the utility companies and instruct the post office for mail redirection.

For Further Information

Cruse Bereavement Care – www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk

NHS – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/coping-with-bereavement/

Hospice Information Service at St Christopher’s: www.stchristophers.org.uk

Macmillan Nurses: www.macmillan.org.uk

Age UK – https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsevSxfij6AIVB7DtCh2qawCWEAAYASAAEgJS3vD_BwE

Posted 7 April 2020 12:45