Who Do You Call When Someone Dies in Their Sleep? – Procedures You Need to Follow

Who do you call when someone dies in their sleep? Can immediate relatives take the matter into their own hands? Do they need to call some authorities to declare the death? Dealing with a death is not easy for anyone. The emotional loss makes people vulnerable. At the same time, the legalities related to the death, especially when one dies in their sleep, make the matter more complicated. Many people do not know who they need to contact. That’s why this article will go over what you’ll have to do if you’re found in this sad situation.

What to Do When Someone Dies in Their Sleep

When a loved one dies in their sleep and you know it from your aide, you’ll need to follow some procedures. The nurse or any other aide is not eligible to declare the death. In that condition, you will have to first call 911. The police will come and will investigate the death as a crime to find out what type of death it falls into. They will go through all the procedures to rule out any possibility of suspicious death and then they will declare the death. Here is the checklist that you need to go through to deal with such loss and to make the procedure legal.  

Checklist

• Legal pronouncement of death. When the doctor is not present during the death, the hospital can declare the death while facilitating the transport of the body.
• When the death happens at home without hospice, you need to call 911. With a do-not-resuscitate document, you will get the death declaration without any hassle. Otherwise, a doctor will check the body for the declaration.
• When an autopsy is not required, you can pick the body.
• Notify the relatives and doctors.
• Take care of the dependents.
• Notify the employer if the person was working somewhere.

Things to Do After the Death Declaration

The first thing you will need to do is to find out the document to know about any prepaid burial plans. If you there is any, follow the procedure. Ask your relatives to help you to prepare an obituary. If the person is related to any organization or religion, contact them to get the burial benefits. Take on the help of a family member or friend to keep an eye on the home of the deceased as well as to answer the phone calls and to take care of other things.

Get the death certificate with multiple copies. You will need copies for insurers, agencies, and financial institutions. Take the will of the deceased to the appropriate office for probation.

Additional Things

You will need the help of an attorney to transfer the assets. Also, the police will check the house of the deceased. Check all the financial documents such as bank deposits and safe accounts. Contact all the authorities such as investment adviser, life insurance agent, social security and other agencies to know about the benefits that the deceased was getting during their lifetime.

Bottom Line

Who do you call when someone dies in their sleep? You do not need to call any legal authority if the person dies within the hospital, since the doctor or hospital will declare the death. If one dies at home without hospice supervision, then you need to call on 911 to get a death declaration.