GUIDANCE FOR CARE HOMES ABOUT ARRANGING A FUNERAL FOR A U.H. ESTATE
1. If the resident who has died in a Care Home has no Will (which might specify funeral wishes) and no known blood relatives (who can make funeral arrangements), the estate may well fall to the Crown as
Ultimus Haeres and become the administrative responsibility of the QLTR Unit.
2. If the deceased resident had a pre-paid funeral bond, the Care Home Manager can organize the funeral in accordance with the instructions previously given by the resident to the bond holder.
3. If the deceased is believed to have sufficient funds for a private funeral, again the Care Home manager can organize it. However, the Manager must first check with fundholders (e.g. Bank, Building Society, Insurance Company) that there are adequate funds before instructing the undertaker. (A passbook may not disclose an accurate balance if it has not been updated for some time and Standing Orders etc. may have greatly reduced the funds originally available).
4. Once it has been established that the deceased's estate has sufficient funds, the Care Home Manager should ask a local undertaker to provide a written estimate for either a cremation or a burial, depending on any known wishes of the deceased. Once the estimate has been received and the Manager is sure that the estate can pay the cost, the funeral can go ahead. (On average, a private cremation will cost from £1,500 plus VAT. Buying a new lair for a burial will obviously cost more.) The estate can, if it has the funds, meet the cost of one suitable floral tribute. No other expenses should be incurred without prior authorisation from the QLTR unit.
5. The QLTR Unit can, where there are sufficient funds, authorize purchase of a headstone. A written estimate will first have to be approved by the QLTR Unit. It will also consider a request for (say) a memorial bench, but in either case only after the estate funds have been ingathered and all prior debts paid. Any such request should be submitted in writing.
6. It may be Bank or Building Society policy to request a copy of the undertaker's invoice and to make payment directly to him from the account held for the deceased. The Unit has no objection to this practice but it does vary as between different Banks or Societies. It is in order to leave the undertaker's account to be settled by the Unit after funds have been ingathered.
7. If the resident had his or her Care Home charges paid by the Local Authority, there may not be any funds available to pay for a private funeral. In such a case, the Manager should contact the Local Authority and request a funeral in accordance with the Authority's duties under the National Assistance Act 1948 The cost of such a funeral is approximately £600. It will be organized by the Local Authority. If sufficient funds are later collected, they will be used to repay the Local Authority for this expense.
8. The QLTR Unit is located in Edinburgh and can be contacted on telephone numbers: or fax number:
0844 5613804
0844 5613806
0844 5613802
0844 5613805
or by fax on fax number 0844 5614276.
9. If a Care Home manager is reporting a UH death directly to the QLTR Unit rather than to a local Fiscal's office, then the Manager should submit a completed F8 Form - Statement of Particulars to the Unit. This form can be downloaded from the Crown Office website - www.copfs.gsi.gov.uk (search on QLTR).
QLTR Unit
Crown Office
25 Chambers Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LA
October 2007