When a death is reported to the Coroner, the Coroner needs to establish who has died as well as where, when and how the death occurred.

If the cause of death is unclear then they will hold a Post-Mortem. Following Post-Mortem, the Coroner may decide to hold an inquest into the death.

Inquests is an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding a death. The purpose of the inquest is to find out who the deceased person was and how and when and where they died. This is to provide the details needed for their death to be registered.

It can take anywhere between 4 – 12 weeks for the investigations to be carried out, but a Coroner will contact you as soon as they have results.

Matters being reported to a Coroner is not an uncommon process. Currently, there are 45% of all deaths which are reported to the Coroner.

Reasons why a death may be reported to a Coroner:

  1. The Death was sudden and unexplained;
  2. Unknown cause of death;
  3. Deceased was not seen by a GP during their final illness;
  4. Violent or unnatural death;
  5. There is no medical certificate available;
  6. Death occurred during operation while under general anaesthetic;
  7. The medical certificate suggest death caused by industrial disease/poisoning.

If the cause of death is clear, then the Coroner may decide that a Coroner’s Inquest is not required. Until the Coroner has established a conclusion surrounding death, the death is unable to be formally registered with the Births, Deaths & Marriages Registry.

If there is a delay before the Inquest, then the Coroner in these circumstance can issue an interim Death Certificate to assist in dealing with the personal affairs/administration of the deceased’s Estate. This interim death certificate is able to be used through the probate process of applying for a Grant of Probate.

If Fisher Jones Greenwood can assist you in the Administration of an Estate, please contact us on 01206 700113 or email [email protected] to arrange a mutually convenient appointment.