What to Do When Someone Dies at Home

If the death was expected and the person was under hospice care, call the hospice line first — they will guide you through what happens next and will usually handle the official notifications. If the death was unexpected, or the person was not under medical care, call 911. Do not move the body, and try not to disturb the room.

A coroner or medical examiner will attend and take responsibility for the body. Which one depends on your county: a coroner is an elected official who may or may not be a physician, while a medical examiner is an appointed forensic pathologist. Either way, their role is the body and the cause of death — not the property.

This is the part most families are not told. Once the body is removed, nothing else is anyone else's responsibility. The coroner does not clean the room. The police do not clean the room. If there is any biological material present, remediation falls to the property owner or the family, and it needs handling under the same rules as any other biohazard.

If the death was discovered quickly there may be nothing to remediate at all, and it is worth asking rather than assuming. If the person was not found for some time, the material will have penetrated further than it appears — carpet, subfloor, sometimes joists — and surface cleaning will not resolve either the health risk or the odor.

Practical things worth doing in the first day: secure the property, locate any will or funeral instructions, notify the person's doctor, and contact their insurer. If you are not sure whether the property needs professional remediation, a phone call costs nothing and someone can tell you what you are dealing with before you decide anything.

The first hour

What you do first depends on whether the death was expected.

What happens next

For an unexpected death, emergency services attend and a coroner or medical examiner takes responsibility for the body. Which office depends on where you are — a coroner is usually elected and may not be a physician, while a medical examiner is appointed and is almost always a forensic pathologist. Either way, their remit is the body and the cause of death.

They may order an autopsy, and the body may be held for a period. Once they release it, a funeral home of your choosing collects it. You are not obliged to use any provider suggested to you, and you can take time over that decision.

Toxicology results, where ordered, routinely take weeks after the body has been released. The death certificate may be issued as pending in the meantime, which can complicate estate matters — worth knowing in advance.

The part most families are not told

Once the body is removed, nothing else is anyone else's responsibility. The coroner does not clean the room. The police do not clean the room. The funeral home does not clean the room.

If there is biological material present, remediation falls to the property owner or the family, and it is handled under the same rules as any other biohazard. This is genuinely surprising to most people, and it usually lands at the worst possible moment.

If the death was discovered quickly there may be nothing to remediate at all. It is worth asking rather than assuming either way. If the person was not found for some time, material will have penetrated further than it appears — into carpet, subfloor, sometimes joists — and surface cleaning will resolve neither the health risk nor the odor.

Practical steps in the first days

• Secure the property, particularly if it will now be empty
• Locate any will, funeral instructions or prepaid funeral plan
• Notify the person's doctor if they were not involved
• Contact their home and life insurers
• Request several certified copies of the death certificate — most institutions will not accept photocopies, and you will need more than you expect
• Do not cancel utilities immediately if remediation may be needed; crews need power and water
• Take photographs of any affected room before anything is touched, for an insurance claim

If the property needs work

A phone call costs nothing and carries no obligation. Someone can tell you whether what you are describing needs professional remediation or whether it does not, and that alone is worth the call.

Where it is needed, homeowners insurance frequently covers it under the property damage provision. Keep photographs taken before work started, the written scope, and the disposal documentation — those three things are what an adjuster will ask for.

Who to notify, and roughly when

Things people wish they had known

• Order more certified death certificates than you think you need — ten is a reasonable starting point, and getting more later is slower.
• Do not rush to cancel utilities. Remediation crews need power and water, and reconnecting is harder than leaving it running for a fortnight.
• Photograph any affected room before anything is moved. It takes thirty seconds and it is what an insurance adjuster will ask for.
• You can decline the first funeral home suggested to you. There is no obligation attached to whoever attends.
• A pending cause of death on the certificate can delay probate. Ask the coroner's office when toxicology is expected.
• Nobody expects you to handle everything in the first week. Most of it can wait.

Common questions

Related service: Unattended Death Cleanup