Get a legal pronouncement of death

To get a legal pronouncement of death, the person to contact depends on where the death occurred.

• If at a hospital, nursing home, or hospice facility:

  The staff will lead you through the next steps and get the pronouncement of death for you

• If under hospice care, but not in a medical facility:

  Call the hospice nurse. They will declare and help you transport the body.

• If not under hospice care and not in a medical facility:

  Call 911. Then, find the do-not-resuscitate/advance directive document if it exists. Otherwise, the paramedics will usually be required to start emergency procedures and take the person to an emergency room for a doctor to do the pronouncement of death.

If the death is not expected, traumatic, suspicious, or if the cause of death is not known, an autopsy may be needed to find what caused the death. You can find out more here.

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