FAMILY RUN FUNERAL DIRECTORS

We are a family run, privately owned company. We take great pride in what we do and work tirelessly to provide the best service for every family we look after.

Our vast local knowledge, coupled with many years of experience in the funeral directing profession, mean that we are able to offer a very personal level of service that is specific to your own requirements.

Our friendly approachable staff are always on hand to answer any questions you may have, and nothing is too much trouble. Although our office hours are 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday,

in the case of emergency outside of these hours you will always be able to talk to a member of staff at Overton and Saunders Funeral Directors.

All the staff at Overton and Saunders Funeral Directors make us who we are, it's the small details that our clients tell us are important:

- Our friendly approach

- Dedication to what we do

- And genuine care of your loved one

Our family's expectations are often exceeded.

Support and Guidance

We are committed to the providing the highest professional service to you at your time of need. We will make the procedure of coping with the loss of a loved one as stress free as possible.

From the first phone call, to the day of the funeral and beyond, we will help you, your family and friends with all the arrangements to ensure that your chosen funeral is a truly special send off for your loved one. Everyone is unique, there is no such thing as a normal funeral – no two funerals are alike.

As your funeral directors we are here to help and advise in whatever way we can.

We are dedicated professionals who provide a personal service to you 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is a rare privilege to be a funeral director, to stand in a sensitive position, at a crucial time in the midst of your family, knowing that the quality of our service and reputation will help you through the most difficult time of your lives. It is not our policy to impose urgency or apply undue pressure on you or your family. It is important for many people to reflect the personality and character of your loved one within the arrangements and this often requires time and thought.

“Beautiful Service”

Very empathetic and professional. They organised a beautiful service and were very considerate of my family's feelings on the day. I highly recommend them.

What to do when someone dies

When someone dies. It is usual for people to be unsure of what to do in the immediate aftermath of a bereavement. Overton and Saunders are here to take you through the initial steps and provide advice on other things you may need to think about when someone you know dies.

If the person dies at home

The first thing you should do is contact your GP. Depending on the time of the death, they will either help you or you will be directed to the out of hours service, and in some cases, the ambulance service.

In any event a doctor will come to your house to formally confirm the death. If the deceased did not have a GP then you should contact the out of hours doctor service or the ambulance service and as a last resort, the police. Where the cause of death is obvious and expected, the person’s usual GP should be able to issue a medical certificate of cause of death.

The death certificate will be issued and placed in a sealed envelope addressed to the Registrar of births, deaths, and marriages free of charge. You will then receive a formal notice which confirms that the doctor has signed the death certificate and gives details about registering a death. If you or the deceased decides the body will be cremated the doctor must also complete a form called the cremation certificate.

If the person dies in a hospital or nursing home

If the death was expected and has been confirmed by a doctor or a suitably trained member of the nursing team, arrangements will be made to issue the medical certificate of death. It is then your responsibility to collect the certificate along with any belongings that have been left. The hospital will usually arrange for you to visit the bereavement officer who will supply you with the cause of death certificate and in some cases a hospital release form which will need to be signed and given to the funeral director so the deceased may be released into their care.

If a person dies suddenly or unexpectedly

The death must be reported to a coroner if it occurs suddenly, unexpectedly or was not due to natural causes. The coroner’s officer (usually uniformed police officer) will visit as soon as possible, record all, of the relevant details and report them to the coroner. The body will be taken to a hospital mortuary designated by the coroner.

It is then the coroner’s decision to decide whether a post-mortem examination or an inquest should be arranged.

Registering a Death

A person’s death should be registered within five days. In most cases, you can register the death anywhere in Hampshire, except for deaths occurring in Southampton and Portsmouth where they must be registered in those areas. This will prevent any delays in relevant paperwork and funeral arrangements.

All the registry offices in our local area require you to make an appointment to see the registrar. Contact Registrars Diary line on 0300 555 1392.

In most cases relatives of the deceased are the ones who will register the death. However in the event of no family, friends of the deceased will be allowed.

Documents you will receive

In most cases the registrar will issue:

A certificate for burial or cremation (often known as the Green Certificate) for you to give to the Funeral Director (if the Coroner is involved this is not always issued) and a certificate for Social Security Benefits for you to take or send to the local Benefits Agency, along with any pension, income support or other benefit books.

There is no charge to register a death, only for certified copies of the death certificate, currently £ 10.00 each a copy of the certificate will be required to administer the estate and many companies now insist on certified copies instead of photocopies. If there are several companies that you wish to deal with at the same time, to speed up the administration of the estate you may wish to have several certified copies. You can always request additional copies later; they may however be more expensive.

At the end of the death registration appointment the Registrar will give you a unique reference to access the 'Tell Us Once Service' online or by telephone.

Checklist of Documents

The medical certificate that has been issued by the GP (the Coroner will normally send this directly to the registrar)

If available, you should also take the deceased’s birth certificate, their NHS medical card and their marriage or civil partnership certificate, if applicable.

You will need the date and place of death, the deceased’s full name at the time of death and any previous names including maiden surname, date and place of birth, last address, occupation, and benefits circumstances.

The personal details for a living spouse or civil partner.

When a death is reported to a coroner

A doctor may report the death to a coroner if the:

cause of death is unknown
death was violent or unnatural
death was sudden and unexplained
person who died was not visited by a medical practitioner during their final illness
medical certificate is not available
person who died was not seen by the doctor who signed the medical certificate within 14 days before death or after they died
death occurred during an operation or before the person came out of anaesthetic
medical certificate suggests the death may have been caused by an industrial disease or industrial poisoning

The coroner may decide that the cause of death is clear.

In this case:

The doctor signs a medical certificate.
You take the medical certificate to the registrar.
The coroner issues a certificate to the registrar stating a post-mortem is not needed.

Post-mortems

The coroner may decide a post-mortem is needed to find out how the person died. This can be done either in a hospital or mortuary.

You cannot object to a coroner’s post-mortem – but if you have asked the coroner must tell you (and the person’s GP) when and where the examination will take place.

After the post-mortem

The coroner will release the body for a funeral once they have completed the post-mortem examinations and no further examinations are needed.

If the body is released with no inquest, the coroner will send a form to the registrar stating the cause of death.

The coroner will also send a ‘Certificate of Coroner – form Cremation 6’ if the body is to be cremated.

If the coroner decides to hold an inquest

A coroner must hold an inquest if the cause of death is still unknown, or if the person:

possibly died a violent or unnatural death
died in prison or police custody

You cannot register the death until after the inquest. The coroner is responsible for sending the relevant paperwork to the registrar.

The death cannot be registered until after the inquest, but the coroner can give you an interim death certificate to prove the person is dead. You can use this to let organisations know of the death and apply for probate.

When the inquest is over the coroner will tell the registrar what to put in the register.

Arranging a funeral

This is usually undertaken by the nearest surviving relative or executor of the deceased. The choice of whether burial or cremation may already have been discussed prior to the death occurring and we will endeavour to carry out any of the families wishes.

Once the decision has been made on either burial or cremation, we will advise you on the choices available to you. We have several crematoria in our locality, and you can decide which one you would like to use. There is however a lot of paperwork involved in each cremation so we would advise that you allow a minimum of 14 days between death and funeral. Burials may be quicker dependent on where your wish to be interred. We will guide you through the process.

OPENING HOURS

MONDAY - FRIDAY 11:00 - 18:30 SATURDAY 11:00 - 17:00

SUNDAY 12:30 - 16:30

ADDRESS

Boyatt Wood Centre

Shakespeare Road

Easleigh

SO50 4QP