What to do in case of a death in France?

The different steps following a death

1. Death confirmation

   Call a doctor as soon as possible to confirm the death. Be aware that doctors may take several hours before they are available.

2. Funeral service

   Call a funeral service company, like Advitam. We will advise you with compassion, even if you decide to go with another provider.

3. Documents

   Gather the appropriate documents; see below for more details.

4. Funeral planning

   The funeral service company takes care of organizing the ceremony and will get back to you as soon as a date is set.

5. Your relatives

   Notify the deceased's relatives and friends as soon as the date is known, so they can pay their last respects.

   At Advitam, we offer a free memorial space where loved ones can leave a memory.

6. Clothes

   Collect and bring clothing that belonged to the deceased to the hospital or funeral home.

7. Religious ceremony

   If you wish to have a religious ceremony, it is recommended to get in touch with the officiant so that they can get to know the family better and adapt the ceremony to the deceased.

Subsequently, numerous procedures with various organizations will be necessary. You can find a non-exhaustive list on the funeral procedures page. Don't forget that Advitam provides a free tool that allows you to complete these tasks in just a few minutes.

Confirming the death

The death can be confirmed by any doctor, such as your general practitioner or the on-call doctor. The doctor will issue a death certificate that you must keep. Without this document, you will be unable to undertake any further steps.

If the death occurred in a hospital, the hospital's doctor will confirm the death, and the hospital will handle the death declaration. The deceased will be taken to the mortuary where the stay is free for the first few days. It may become chargeable after a certain number of days. This depends on each establishment.

You can pay your respects to the deceased by notifying the hospital staff of your visit.

If the death occurred at home, the deceased must not be touched or moved before the death has been confirmed by a doctor. You must retrieve and keep the death certificate.

To preserve the deceased, you should turn off any heat sources near them and close all windows and doors in the room.

If the death occurred in a nursing home, the nursing home will typically ask you to transfer the deceased to a funeral home.

Once the death certificate is issued, you must call a funeral service company to organize the ceremony. AdVitam is here to listen and can provide compassionate advice.

Organizing the funeral: required documents

• Your identity card or passport

• The deceased's family record book, or if unavailable, their identity card or passport. The family record book is necessary because the town hall will want to record the death in it.

• The death certificate, in the case where the death occurred outside a hospital

• The deceased's last wishes, if any

• Information about your family tomb (cemetery, plot number, remaining spaces, etc.)

• Written authorizations from other rightful claimants on the family tomb accepting the deceased's burial in the tomb

Financing the funeral

Regarding the funeral financing, you may need the following documents, depending on the case. You can find more information on the different financing options for funerals on this page.

• The deceased's bank account details (RIB). This account must not be a joint account.

• The deceased's insurance or funeral contract

• The deceased's employment contract

• The deceased's mutual insurance contract

Notifying relatives and friends of a death

This is the most challenging step. You can ask someone less emotionally involved to help you.

If you cannot do it yourself, or if you cannot ask someone else to take care of it, the solution is to send announcements either by mail or email.

Advitam can assist you in writing and creating the announcements.

Clothing that belonged to the deceased

This request may be surprising, but it's about dressing the deceased appropriately during the mortuary preparation for the final tribute that will take place on the day of the ceremony. There are no specific rules for choosing the clothes. Choose clothes that the deceased liked to wear during important events, such as a family gathering for Christmas.

Then, the funeral ceremony takes place. You can find more information on the course of a funeral ceremony.

Following the ceremony, you will still have many administrative documents to send, such as those for the bank, taxes, insurance, etc. You can find more information on the documents to be returned after a death.

Psychological support for grieving

So far, this guide has only addressed the practical aspects following the loss of a loved one, but experiencing grief is a traumatic event.

The different stages of grief were described by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in 1969. This can help you better understand your own journey in dealing with your grief.

If you need psychological support to overcome your grief, many associations exist and can provide free help during this difficult time.