What To Do When A Loved One Passes Away At Home
When a death occurs in Singapore, be it a close loved one or perhaps the parent of a friend, it affects all of us. We know it could be difficult to handle the post-death matters while trying to survive an emotional turmoil, so we hope this article will help make the death registration process a little easier for you. Speedoc’s CCOD service in Singapore covers the following:
How to get a Certificate of Cause of Death
How to register a certificate of death, i.e. Death Certificate, in Singapore
How long does it take to register a death certificate
And more
COSTS TO CONSIDER TO GET CCOD IN SINGAPORE
When a loved one passes away at home, there are costs outside of CCOD to consider. Memorial services can cost anything between $1,300 to $10,000, and caskets, depending on the type, can cost anything between $700 to $10,000.
After registering the death of your loved ones, the memorial service can be arranged to send off your loved ones to either be buried, cremated, or replanted as a tree (eco-urn).
HOW TO GET A CCOD WHEN A DEATH OCCURS AT HOME
1. How to obtain a Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD)
A Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) is a document issued by a licensed medical professional that certifies an individual’s death as a result and known and natural causes. Known and natural causes refer to illnesses that were previously diagnosed, like cancer, or a sudden stop in bodily function, like a heart attack. Unnatural causes refer to death due to external forces, like suicide or murder.
When a death occurs at home, call a doctor that can perform a house call immediately. This can be proven to be a more cost-effective solution for the grieving family. Some family doctors conduct house calls aside from seeing patients at their clinic and help you register for it while you focus on more important things. But if your doctor doesn’t, consider calling Speedoc. We provide 24/7 house call services, where a licensed GP doctor can visit your home at any time of the day to issue a CCOD.
Simply give us a call at our hotline, +65 6909 7799 or book a house call doctor via the Speedoc app, and we will send a doctor to your home as soon as possible to help with the death registration process, no matter what time it is.
Do note that a doctor can only issue a CCOD on the spot if there is a valid medical report that could help him/her identify the cause of death due to pre-existing medical conditions. If the individual is a regular Speedoc patient, the doctor may be able to use prior medical records to determine the cause of death. However, if the individual is new to Speedoc, you may have to present a medical report that states the illness he/she has been diagnosed with.
2. Engage a funeral director
Once a Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) has been obtained, a funeral director can be engaged to:
Collect the body from the home,
Send the body for embalming (if required), and
Deliver the body to the wake location
3. Register the death (can be done at the same time as Step 1)
A Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) is different from a Death Certificate. While a CCOD certifies the cause of death, the Death Certificate is an official document that declares the death of an individual.
Before registering the death, you will have to make a decision as to whether the body will be cremated or buried first, as this information is needed during the death certificate registration process. You can register the death at any of these places:
Police Divisional Headquarters
Neighbourhood Police Centre
Neighbourhood Police Post
The Registry of Births and Death, which is located on the 3rd floor of the ICA Building*
You’ll need to bring the following documents with you:
Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) issued by the doctor
Identification papers of the deceased and informant (e.g. NRIC, Passport, Certificate of Registration of Birth, or FIN card)
While Speedoc is unable to help you enquire about a death record, you can go to the ICA website to search for a death certificate using the name, sex, date of death (approximate) to get the record. The enquiry process is a little faster if you have information about the place or address of death and the last known address of the deceased.
