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