What happens next?

DaunEierdam

In the case I'm thinking of, the assets would go to the Crown. Now my question is: How does the Crown find out about them? Is someone required to report the death, and to whom?

Dr.Sheppard

A bit of a morbid subject this one. There are various websites that set out the information and procedures that apply in the UK, some towns may have a slight variation so its best to check. This is what you would expect to happen.

Once a medical certificate has been issued, the death of an individual must be reported within five days, (but can be extended for a further nine days in special circumstances). The person responsible is, in the following order: a relative who was present at the death, a relative present during the person’s last illness, a relative living in the district where the death took place, anyone else present at the death, an owner or occupier of the building where the death took place and who was aware of the death.

The registration of death is the formal record of the death. It is done by the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages at the Register Office. A death should be registered at the register office in the district where they lived.

A writer who felt the need to cover this in a novel would need to be aware of the procedures and the impact on their characters and  the plot. Hope this helps.

Tommy_A_Jones

All Death's Must be Registered, There was an incident recently where a Man (I think lived with his Dead wife for a few days but the GP registered the Death so the man was not Prosecuted as all the Law is interested in is whether the Death is Registered, Parents have 6 months to register a Birth.

Dr.Sheppard

As it has been brought up let’s clarify the registration of a birth.

In Scotland, births must be registered within 21 days, by the Registrar.

In Northern Ireland, a birth must be registered within 42 days.

In England, it is also a requirement to register a birth within 42 days.

You should register the birth at the local Register Office for the area where the baby was born or at the hospital before the mother leaves (if the service is available).

When a child is born abroad, the birth must be registered according to the regulations in the country where the child was born. Although not necessary, there are advantages to registering the birth with the UK authorities; the birth will be recorded with the General Register Offices or at the National Records Office of Scotland; you can order a consular birth registration certificate. (You can still apply for a UK passport for the child even if you don’t register the birth in the UK.)

Note: The list of individuals who can register a birth is quite long and perhaps not needed here.