Death – Checklist for next of kin: An overview of the tasks to be carried out

Death – Checklist for next of kin: An overview of the tasks to be carried out

When we are faced with the death of a loved one, alongside our grief, there are unfortunately also tasks and formalities that need to be dealt with within a short space of time. Our checklist below for dealing with a death is designed to help you get an overview of the tasks that now need to be completed. Whilst it won’t spare you the work (which you may find tedious or unnecessary), it can certainly provide you with some structure and guidance.

Our checklist provides guidance for relatives and heirs, so that in the event of a bereavement they can see at a glance which steps need to be taken and when. Some of these are also handled by the funeral director.

Please note that certain matters can only be dealt with by means of a lasting power of attorney or as an heir. Of course, it is not always clear at such an early stage who the heirs will be, so you must not make any „rash decisions“ here, so that you not to run into liability issues end up, especially if you’re toying with the idea of turning it down.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask for advice: Talk to us!

You can download the checklist for relatives here (PDF): Download Checklist for a Death

A) Immediately upon admission or certifying death

• Contact your GP or an emergency doctor so that death can be officially certified and a death certificate issued (Note: if the person dies in hospital, the hospital will take care of this)
• Notifying the police if there are signs of suicide or an unexplained accidental death
• Notifying the next of kin and, where appropriate, discussing the next steps
• Find your most important documents (identity card, birth certificate; for married people: marriage certificate/family register; for divorced people: final divorce decree; for widowed people: spouse’s death certificate)
• Identify any contracts and/or instructions relating to the deceased’s death and act accordingly (e.g. will, inheritance agreement, instructions regarding the nature of the funeral and memorial service, pre-arranged funeral contract with a funeral director, organ donation, etc.)

B) During the first two to three days following the onset or confirmation of death

• Notifying the deceased’s employer
• Information from your own employer, as special leave may be requested in the case of close relatives (Section 616 of the German Civil Code (BGB))
• Notify the life, funeral and/or accident insurance providers, as they may reserve the right to investigate the cause of death. If the death is reported too late, there may be problems with the payment of the insurance sum (for example, in the case of accidental death, the insurance company must usually be informed within 48 hours for the accident insurance to pay out).
• Collection of the deceased and transfer of the body to the mortuary at the cemetery or to the funeral director’s premises
• Report a death to the registry office and apply for a death certificate. The registry office responsible is the one in the place where the death occurred, not the place of residence. Please note: there is a legal obligation to report the death for anyone who lived with the deceased; alternatively, for the occupier of the property where the death occurred; or alternatively, for anyone who was present at the time of death.
• The following original documents are required for the issue of a death certificate:
  • Identity card
  • Health insurance card
  • Birth certificate
  • Where applicable, a marriage certificate or an extract from the family register; where applicable, a divorce decree with a legal note
  • Where applicable, the death certificate of the predeceased spouse
  • Disability card, if applicable
  • Where applicable, pension notification (old-age or widow’s pension)
  • Grave card for the grave plot (if already available)

• Look after your flat (if necessary, look after any pets and plants or arrange for them to be looked after; if necessary, turn off the electricity, gas and water; take out the rubbish; give away or take perishable food with you)
• If no pre-arranged funeral contract was taken out during the deceased’s lifetime, select a funeral director and finalise the details of the funeral (e.g. the date of the funeral). As a rule, the heir bears the funeral costs (Section 1986 of the German Civil Code (BGB)). If the heir is unable to cover these costs, the person who was obliged to provide maintenance for the deceased will be held liable. In the event of an accidental death caused by another person, that person must reimburse the reasonable funeral costs.
• Clearing out the room in the care home. In principle, the contract with the care home ends on the day of death. Exceptions to this may be made in the event of contractual agreements regarding the period for which the deceased’s personal effects are to be stored. You should therefore clarify the arrangements for clearing out the room with the care home management as soon as possible.
• Further notifications:
  • Long-term care insurance, where benefits have been received
  • Contact other friends and more distant relatives
  • Please contact the church office if you would like pastoral support

C) During the first three to four days following the onset or confirmation of death

• Create a file containing important documents relating to the death (e.g. death certificate, notice of termination, correspondence with public authorities, etc.)
• If the deceased lived alone in rented accommodation, the tenancy must be terminated in writing (this can only be done by a person authorised to act on their behalf after their death or by the heir(s)), as the tenancy does not end upon the tenant’s death. It may be possible to reach an agreement with the landlord whereby the tenancy can be terminated by mutual consent before the end of the notice period. If the deceased shared a household with their spouse or partner, the tenancy passes to that person.
• submit the existing will to the probate court
• If the deceased has left any powers of attorney relating to pension arrangements, banking and/or general matters: contact the authorised representative; check whether the power of attorney remains valid after death or whether it should or can be revoked

D) Until the funeral service / burial

• Drafting and publishing an obituary; drafting and sending out condolence cards
• Unless a pre-arranged funeral contract covering these matters has been taken out with a funeral director during one’s lifetime, the following points should be borne in mind:
  • Arranging an appointment and a bereavement consultation with the vicar or funeral speaker
  • Organising the funeral service
• Order funeral decorations for the funeral parlour and grave from a florist (flowers, wreaths, funeral ribbons)
• Book a restaurant or café for a wake or funeral reception
• Check whether the deceased placed any orders shortly before their death and, if necessary, cancel them
• Set up a mail redirection request with the Post Office
• In the case of younger deceased persons: deregistration with the Family Benefits Office (child benefit), the BAföG office, schools, universities, scholarship providers, etc.

E) In the weeks following the funeral service / burial

• Design (or have designed) and send out thank-you cards and/or place a thank-you notice in a newspaper
• Clearing out the flat
• Draw up an inventory of the estate
• After the will has been opened: if necessary, apply to the probate court for a certificate of inheritance
• Applying to the German Pension Insurance Scheme for a survivor’s pension: Following the death of a spouse, the surviving partner continues to receive the full amount of the deceased’s statutory pension for three months. After that, the surviving spouse is entitled to a survivor’s pension (either 55% or 25% of the deceased’s pension).
• apply to other providers for additional benefits, e.g. pensions from supplementary insurance schemes (public or church service), payments from pension funds of former employers (occupational pension schemes), Riester pensions, Rürup pensions, pensions from the „Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See“ (German Miners’, Railways and Seafarers’ Pension Insurance), if the deceased was employed or worked in mining, the railways or the maritime sector, and pensions from occupational pension schemes
• Apply to the German Pension Insurance Scheme for a (half-)orphan’s pension
• Notify other insurance providers (e.g. public liability or home contents insurance. Building and motor insurance are linked to the properties themselves rather than to the policyholder and are transferred to the heir(s))
• Cancel other contracts (e.g. club memberships, newspaper subscriptions, other services, mobile phone contracts, electricity, GEZ, Sky, cable TV, internet service provider contracts)
• If you have already made a booking or placed an order: Cancel any travel arrangements or other orders
• Delete social media profiles if this is desired and the login details are known. If the login details are not known, notify the relevant company of the death and request that the account be deleted.
• Account tracing where the deceased’s bank details are unknown
• Check with the deceased’s employer whether any entitlements remain outstanding, e.g. meal allowances, holiday pay, travel expenses, etc. Return any keys to the employer if necessary
• If the deceased ran a business or was self-employed, the business must either be re-registered and the responsibilities redistributed, or the business must be deregistered. Where necessary, customers, suppliers and the tax office must be informed of this.
• After about six weeks: Tidy up the grave and organise its upkeep
• After about three months: Commission a stonemason to create the grave border and headstone

F) After six months / at the end of the year

• Filling in the deceased’s income tax return
• Filling in an inheritance tax return

G) Within one year of the death

• If the deceased lived in a rented flat: check the service charge statement; make any additional payments or collect any refunds and distribute them where necessary

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask for advice: Talk to us!