If We Are Planning a Home Funeral, Who Should I Contact if My Loved One Dies at Home?

If the person who died was on hospice, contact your hospice provider. They will contact the on-call hospice nurse, who will certify the death. An RN is allowed to sign the medical portion of a death certificate in some jurisdictions, but not all. If the attending physician must sign it, the hospice nurse will typically contact the doctor and arrange for it to be done within 72 hours of the death. 

If the person who died wasn’t on hospice but their death was expected, contact their attending physician. Ideally, the doctor should be present at the time of death. But if your loved one was under the doctor’s care for an ongoing condition, and the cause of death is known, they will typically sign the death certificate and certify the date, time and cause of death. If you’re not using a funeral home, the doctor can sign the death certificate in your home. 

If you can’t contact the person’s doctor within a reasonable amount of time, you may need to call 9-1-1. Before doing so, locate the person’s POLST or out-of-hospital DNR. This will mitigate any chance that first responders will initiate CPR. You may also keep your loved one’s body in your home for some time before calling if you wish. 

(Note: In most jurisdictions, a paramedic may certify that a person has died at the scene if the person has obviously been dead for some time or if resuscitation is deemed impossible. If an EMT responds to the call, they can usually call the ER to have a doctor certify death over the phone.) Depending on the circumstances surrounding the death, first responders may be legally required to take the body to the Emergency Room. In that case, the family may claim the body after appropriate determinations have been made. If transport is not required by law, you may keep your loved one’s body at home. You will need to contact their attending physician to sign the death certificate. 

In the event that your loved one died unexpectedly or there is any suspicion of foul play, the coroner or medical examiner’s office may need to be involved. This rarely happens when the doctor certifies that the death is due to natural causes. However, if there is any doubt, the coroner or medical examiner will investigate. In that case, the authorities will determine if an autopsy is required. If it is, the body will not be released to you until the autopsy is complete. (Note: State laws differ on when an autopsy is required. If the family objects for religious or cultural reasons, it can sometimes be waived.)

SOURCES
“Table 2: Selected Characteristics of Deaths Requiring Autopsy by State”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/media/pdfs/table2-autopsy.pdf?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/docs/coroner/table2-autopsy.pdf