The paperwork after a death: what we handle, and what is left for you

With a direct cremation, we handle every form the cremation itself depends on: the doctor's cremation certificates, the application and permit, the registration of the death and the official death certificate. What stays with the family is the round of notifications that follows, to the bank, the super fund, Centrelink and the like, and almost all of those wait on the one document we obtain for you.

In the week after someone dies, the paperwork arrives from every direction and it is very hard to tell which of it is urgent, which of it is ours, and which of it is yours. This guide sorts it into those three piles. It is written for Cairns and Far North Queensland families, because the process is a Queensland one and the sequence matters.

Pile one: what we do, and you never see

A cremation cannot legally go ahead in Queensland until a doctor has certified the cause of death and a permit to cremate has been issued. We chase the doctors, lodge the application and follow it through until the permit lands. That is what sets the pace of the first few days, and we have written separately about how long a direct cremation takes and what happens on the day.

We also register the death with the Queensland registry and obtain the official death certificate on your behalf. All of that is inside the one flat price of $1,990 + GST. You will be asked for some details about your loved one early on, their full name, date and place of birth, parents' names, marriages and children, because the registration needs them. Having a birth certificate or passport handy makes that a two-minute job instead of a hunt.

Pile two: what only the family can do, and when

The list below is longer than anyone wants it to be, but almost every item on it needs a certified copy of the death certificate, so none of it is truly urgent in the first week. Deal with the cremation, let the certificate come through, then work down the list. Most families find it takes a few weeks, not a few days, and that is normal.

• Centrelink and Medicare. Services Australia needs to be told so that payments stop and, where it applies, a bereavement payment can be assessed. This is usually the first call families make because a missed notification creates a debt that has to be paid back later.
• The bank. Accounts in the person's sole name are frozen once the bank is notified, and joint accounts usually keep running for the surviving holder. Take the death certificate and your own identification into the branch, or ring the bank's bereavement line; most of the big banks have one.
• Superannuation and life insurance. Each fund has its own claim process and will ask for the certificate. If a binding nomination was in place it is straightforward; if not, the fund decides who receives it, which can take months, so start early.
• The will and the estate. If there is a will, the executor named in it takes over. Whether probate is needed depends on what the estate holds; a solicitor or the Public Trustee can tell you quickly, and neither charges for the first question.
• The everyday accounts. The ATO, the electoral roll, the driver licence, the car registration, the phone and power accounts, subscriptions, and social media. None of it is urgent. A single afternoon with the certificate and a list clears most of it.

How many copies of the death certificate do you need?

More than you would think. Banks, super funds and insurers each want to sight a certified copy, and some keep it. Families usually find three to five certified copies covers everything, and a Justice of the Peace at most Cairns shopping centres and libraries will certify copies for free. Ask us about copies when the original comes through rather than discovering the shortfall at the bank.

Pile three: what can wait, or never needs doing at all

A death notice in the paper is optional. A printed order of service is optional, and with a direct cremation there is no service to print one for. A memorial is entirely yours to hold, or not, whenever suits, and we have a guide to holding one after a direct cremation. If a relative, a bank or a business tells you something must be done this week, it is worth asking them why before you drop everything. Very little of the paperwork after a death has a deadline measured in days.

If you are not sure which pile something belongs in

Ring and ask. Plenty of the calls we take in the week after a cremation are not about the cremation at all, they are a family holding a form and wanting to know whether it is one of ours or one of theirs. That is a fair question and there is no charge for the answer.

Call Shane on 0461 543 517, any hour, or read more about how a direct cremation works.