What to do if someone dies

Introduction

The death of a family member or friend can be a difficult and emotional time. 

This guide has information on what should happen after someone dies.

In the first few days after someone dies, you must:

  • ensure a medical certificate from a doctor or coroner is submitted to a Births, Deaths and Marriages office
  • secure the deceased’s property and assets
  • arrange the funeral and burial or cremation
  • collect a death registration statement from either a Births, Deaths and Marriages office, funeral director or remote health centre and submit it to the Births, Deaths and Marriages office.

Find out more information about registering a death.


Secure properties and valuables

Immediately after someone dies it is important to secure their home, money and valuables.

You should do all of the following:

  • lock their house
  • store their car in a safe place
  • arrange for their bank account to be frozen, unless it is a joint account
  • store jewellery or other valuables in a safe place
  • check insurances are in place for the home, vehicles and contents.

Look for a will

Family members should look for a will. If there is no family in the Northern Territory, a friend of the deceased or the family can help search for a will.

By law, you must contact the Public Trustee to check for a will.

Other ways you can search include all of the following: 

  • look through their paperwork
  • contact their lawyers
  • contact their bank to see if a will is held in a safety deposit box
  • ask other relatives or financial advisors who might know whether a will exists.

If a will is found, a person or trustee organisation will have been named as executor

If you are appointed executor it means you are responsible for ensuring the person’s wishes are carried out.


Arrange for funeral costs to be paid

You should look for funeral plans and insurance policies that may help pay for the funeral.

Funeral costs take priority over all other estate debts.

You don’t have to wait until the Supreme Court gives the executor permission to take control of the person’s money and belongings before the funeral costs are paid. Read more about taking control of an estate.

Paying funeral costs from their bank account

Payments can be made from the person’s bank account for funeral costs.

You will need to give their bank:

  • a quote from the funeral company
  • a doctor’s certificate confirming the death.

The bank will usually issue a cheque for the costs directly to the funeral company.

If there isn’t enough money to pay for the funeral in full, their bank may issue a cheque for the money that is in the person’s bank account.

You will need to talk to other members of the family to decide who can personally cover the money owing to the funeral company. The funeral company will usually request payment up front.

Road accident deaths

If the death was caused by a road accident, the motor accidents compensation scheme may cover some of the funeral costs. You will need to contact the Territory Insurance Office (TIO) to find out more.

Defence veterans

It may be possible to access a Department of Veteran’s Affairs funeral benefit if the deceased meets the criteria. For more information go to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs website.

Indigenous funeral benefit

Both the Northern Land Council and the Central Land Council have schemes to help with the funeral costs of an Aboriginal person who meets their criteria. You will need to contact them for further information.

Coroner’s Office burials assistance

If the estate can't pay for funeral costs and the family are unable to contribute, the Public Trustee can apply to the Coroner’s Office for financial assistance under the Indigent Person’s Funeral Scheme.

This fund is managed by the Coroner’s Office, but all applications are made through the Public Trustee office. Any money that is brought into the estate must be used to first pay back the Coroner’s Office.


Arrange a burial or cremation

New Act

On 28 November 2022, burial and cremation laws changed in the Northern Territory.

Read about the changes.

If there is a will, the person may have left instructions on how their body should be dealt with. It's the responsibility of the executor to carry out these wishes.

If there is no will or administrator of the deceased person's estate, arranging a burial or cremation usually falls to the most senior next of kin such as a:

  • culturally appropriate person
    • if deceased was Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
  • spouse
  • de facto partner
  • child over 18 years old
  • parent
  • sibling over 18 years old.

If you are responsible for arranging for the burial or cremation, you may wish to talk to a funeral director. They can help you plan details of the funeral.

Find out more about decision maker for burials and cremations.

Burial in a cemetery

To arrange a burial in a cemetery, an application for a burial must be made to the cemetery manager.

Check the locations and contact details for cemeteries in the Northern Territory (NT).

Some areas in the NT are not declared as cemeteries and are treated as burials outside of cemeteries.

Burial outside of cemeteries

If you need to arrange a burial outside a cemetery, you must submit a burial notification. Read more about burials outside a cemetery.

Multiple burials

A burial of a deceased person in the same grave where others are already buried is called a multiple burial.

To arrange a multiple burial:

  • in a cemetery - apply to the cemetery manager and seek authorisation
  • outside a cemetery - submit a burial notification.

Read more about burials outside a cemetery.

Cremation

To arrange a cremation, an application for a cremation needs to be made to the manager of a crematorium facility.

To find out more, go to the following NT crematorium websites:

Further information

You can call 08 8995 5107 or email burials@nt.gov.au.


Register the death and apply for a death certificate

After the person has been buried or cremated, the funeral company will usually help the family to register the death. 

A death registration form needs to be completed and submitted to the Births, Deaths and Marriages office. Read more about how to register a death.

You can then apply for a death certificate.


Administer the estate

After the burial or cremation, the next step is to arrange payment of debts. 

After debts have been paid, the rest of the dead person's money and belongings - called their estate - can be distributed to the people named in the will, called the beneficiaries.

When there is a will  

If there is a will, a person or trustee organisation will have been put in charge of the estate, known as the executor.  

The executor is responsible for carrying out the will instructions and making sure the dead person's money and belongings go to the people named in the will, also known as the beneficiaries.

The executor must apply to the Supreme Court for permission to take control of the estate. This is known as getting a grant of representation.

When there is no will

If there is no will, usually the next of kin or a close relative can take on the administration of the estate. This is known as being the administrator.

If you are the administrator may need to apply to the Supreme Court to take control of the estate.

For more information read about being an executor.