# First Steps When Someone Dies at Home?



## py3ak

The internet is surprisingly uninformative on this topic.

If someone dies in your house, what do you do? I'm referring to practical things: who do you call, in what order, what are common mistakes, what might get you in trouble, etc.?

There are currently no corpses in my residence that I'm aware of, but I was seized with panic this morning on realizing that I have no idea of what steps to take if ever confronted with this logistical problem.


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## NaphtaliPress

911? Surely the paramedics would not only confirm death but know the next steps?


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## DMcFadden

You simply call 911 or the police. They will take care of it from there. (Assuming that the person is really dead and not just mostly dead. If they are mostly dead you simply call 911). If they call the Coroner, the police will stay on site until the Coroner comes. If 911 will take the person to the hospital (on the logic that they are mostly dead, not really dead), you will really have no problems. If the police arrive, prepare to wait until the Coroner's office shows up which can take a few hours. At least that is how they handle it in CA. I have sat with a body for several hours until the Coroner comes and removes it. On the other hand, sometimes the time from initial call to body removal is an hour or less.

Oops! Maybe I misread your question. Obviously my answer did not deal with informing next of kin, etc.

Also, if the "person" is dead because you killed her in a fit of pique over taking your copy of Wheelock's Latin Grammar, you might want to consider going on the lam before the authorities arrive.


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## py3ak

No, that was practical. If you call 911 do you wind up getting charged? If they take the deceased to the hospital?

I guess it doesn't matter if the Coroner, etc., get their hands on the body first because the next of kin are expecting to go the morgue/funeral home, etc.


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## Scott1

A good procedure would be to call the Fire Department/EMT/paramedics.

Don't worry about the cost.


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## Rich Koster

Call Benny Hinn. He will get them up and going if you sow a generous seed of faith.


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## Jimmy the Greek

For deaths that occur at home, it's important to know who to call. If your loved one is a hospice patient, call the hospice agency to report the death. A hospice nurse will come to the home and pronounce the death. The nurse may also call a mortuary for you and arrange for pick up of the body.

If your loved one is not a hospice patient, then you must call 911 Emergency Services to notify the local police of the death. A coroner or medical examiner may be required at the scene if the death was sudden.


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## DMcFadden

Actually, Ruben, if you are "planning" to have a dead body in your house, it might be that you have bigger problems than worrying over who will pay for the transport . . . like how will you pay for your legal defense! 

If you find a body that is obviously dead, you can always call the police and they will handle all of your logistics for you. They are quite adept at next steps in such a case.

Jim is quite correct about hospice. I guess my assumption was that you discover a member of your household has "expired" (generally considered, not that they were hospice patients specifically).


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## py3ak

Dennis, I may do a separate thread later about tips for fleeing from a criminal manhunt.

The consensus seems to be to call the cops, and of course people mostly don't know a number for them except 911 - but I can't help being a little worried about the potential cost. Does anyone have any reassurance to offer on that score?


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## AThornquist

A decent point was raised: would one be charged for calling 911 to remove the corpse? Would it be more cost effective to drag it first to the neighbor's lawn and let them make the call?


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## Kiffin

creepy thread...


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## Galatians220

Ruben,

Around here, no one gets charged for a 911 call in that circumstance. I can't speak for all municipalities or jurisdictions, obviously, but the Charter Township of Canton, I know, does not charge for that. 

They don't even charge for EMT transport to the local first responder site, nor do they charge for local hospital transport from there. The only charge comes if you want transport to a different hospital, _i.e.,_ one that's outside the township.

The police & fire dept. link from your local municipality/township would indicate, or would give you a phone number to call to find out what if any charges there would be.

Blessings - and a hug to your magnificent wife! -

Margaret


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## AThornquist

Kiffin said:


> creepy thread...


 
Definitely one of the strangest I've read. However, the mixture of true curiosity and humor is classic.


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## py3ak

That's reassuring, Margaret. Thank you! It does seem a bit harsh to add the trauma of massive, unexpected bills to the trauma of a dead body in your house. Unless someone chimes in otherwise, I will hold off on obtaining a savings account for deceased house guest body disposal expenses.

Now, say that someone had a card that donated their body to research: is it a _faux pas_ to call those people _before_ one contacts the local PD?

If you're in a hotel, is it courtesy or requirement to let the front desk know?


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## AThornquist

Important questions you pose, Ruben. 

Also, is there a time frame in which the PD must be called, or could I wait a day or two day to call when it is convenient for my schedule?


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

AThornquist said:


> Important questions you pose, Ruben.
> 
> Also, is there a time frame in which the PD must be called, or could I wait a day or two day to call when it is convenient for my schedule?



This is a good point. I mean it is not like the body is going anywhere and it takes a little while for the smell to develop.


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## py3ak

I have wondered about the time frame thing before, but I would like to point out that if any of us should be in this situation, this thread could be remembered with gratitude for helping us bowl the sticky wicket of government interaction with private citizens in the emotionally laden time of death, or with a shudder of horror at how attempts at humor dragged it completely off track.

Margaret, Heidi sends you a hug back.


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## Wayne

> creepy thread...



Yes, but now Ruben is prepared and can invite company over at last. It's all very convenient. 



> I will hold off on obtaining a savings account for deceased house guest body disposal expenses.



All the proper families have an endowment set aside for this purpose.


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## Romans922

Wouldn't the person's life insurance cover such expenses (if there are any)? 

Personally, I only have life insurance for the good of my family, obviously I wouldn't mind just being thrown in a hole, if a pine box is necessary so be it. I would do away with the vault. Blah (too much unnecessary money). They can't keep my body in the grave, not when I'm still united to Christ, vaults will not hold my body! Why the government thinks I need a vault is beyond me.


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## py3ak

Perhaps, but wouldn't you rather _keep_ the life insurance, instead of giving it to the coroner? If you donate your body to science, you can avoid most if not all death-related expenses. The point at issue is making sure you avoid them all, while not putting yourself at any legal risk.


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## Berean

Interesting Saturday discussion. So if someone dies in your living room, log on to the PB first thing for your to-do checklist. 

Now we've moved on to the burial phase. Andrew, if you do away with the vault then the grave will sink as the casket deteriorates. Most cemeteries require them.


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## py3ak

Berean said:


> Interesting Saturday discussion. So if someone dies in your living room, log on to the PB first thing for your to-do checklist.
> 
> Now we've moved on to the burial phase. Andrew, if you do away with the vault then the grave will sink as the casket deteriorates. Most cemeteries require them.


 
I think the first step might be to update your Facebook status, and let the advice come to you.


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## Romans922

Berean said:


> Interesting Saturday discussion. So if someone dies in your living room, log on to the PB first thing for your to-do checklist.
> 
> Now we've moved on to the burial phase. Andrew, if you do away with the vault then the grave will sink as the casket deteriorates. Most cemeteries require them.



Norm, 

I know most cemeteries require them. I'm still opposed, and a sinking grave I care not about, just put a mound of dirt over it. Gravestone I care not, just put a big sign up somewhere that tells the Gospel, I'm happy. There are a number of people who do that in MS (especially those on welfare). To my knowledge you don't need a vault if you bury within three days of death in MS. But you have to have a *GOOD* cemetery to be able to do that.


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## SolaScriptura

Is it wrong to rummage through the pockets of the dead man to see if he has any loose change? I mean, is it stealing if he's dead? And what about if you KNOW he has no living relatives who could rightly lay claim to his loose change?


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## py3ak

I would definitely take the pocketknife, if there was one.

Should you leave the body where it was found, or should you arrange it somewhere respectfully?

In Mexico, when people die they get covered with a white sheet. What if you don't have any white sheets? I'm assuming paisley prints are out, but what about a tasteful floral pattern?


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## SolaScriptura

Would it be acceptable to use them as a coffee table? Or perhaps put them out of the way in a corner or something?


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## py3ak

SolaScriptura said:


> Or perhaps put them out of the way in a corner or something?


 
Exactly: should you leave your deceased house guest in the middle of the living room floor, drag him into the closet, prop him in a chair, etc.?


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## Romans922

You could put the pocketknives (or is it the change/money) over their eyes. I've seen that in movies!


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## Wayne

> I would definitely take the pocketknife, if there was one.



That explains the neat collection you showed me. Provenance is everything.


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## TimV

> Yes, but now Ruben is prepared and can invite company over at last. It's all very convenient.



Wayne, was that a dig at Heidi's cooking?


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## AThornquist

TimV said:


> Yes, but now Ruben is prepared and can invite company over at last. It's all very convenient.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wayne, was that a dig at Heidi's cooking?
Click to expand...


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## DMcFadden

Just saying . . .


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## OPC'n

I'm just sitting here wondering why you were suddenly seized with panic about having a dead body in your house  LOL! Anyway, as far as the cost of calling 911 I'm sure that cost would fall on the dead person's family. Don't worry I have family members with money who will pay for 911 if I ever happen to be dead at your house. However, they won't pay a ransom for my body so you would be better off calling 911 just to get me out of your house.


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## py3ak

Sarah, the reassurance that your family will cover it makes me feel _much_ better about the prospect of you dying at my place!

So there is a cost, then, where you are? My anxiety is returning.


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## OPC'n

Ruben, I believe it depends on where you live and it also depends on how much medical assistance 911 provides. Since the person is dead already there isn't going to be much in the way of assistance. If they have health insurance, then their health insurance will pay for the costs. Otherwise, check with your home insurance company. They probably cover such things for a very small amount of money since it doesn't happen often that your "friends" die in your home.....have you checked the expiration dates on your can foods? lol!


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## py3ak

So the moral of that story is to look up the regular PD phone number and use that instead of 911.


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## Wayne

I've heard that in Russia, they make you pay for the bullets.


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## Wayne

TimV said:


> Yes, but now Ruben is prepared and can invite company over at last. It's all very convenient.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wayne, was that a dig at Heidi's cooking?
Click to expand...

 
No, no. Tim, thy name is misunderstanding. Heidi's cooking is fine. It all has to do with Ruben's irrational fear of zombies.


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## OPC'n

py3ak said:


> So the moral of that story is to look up the regular PD phone number and use that instead of 911.


 
Well, you can but they are going to dispatch an EMS to your house anyway just in case the person is alive and you just don't know it. Also, they are going to wonder why you didn't call 911 first......looks suspicious really.


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## DMcFadden

Ruben, in the midst of your creepy obsession with unlikely topics, remember YOU will not have to pay to remove your own body. 

Nor will you be billed for the removal of anybody else's body other than your spouse. In such a case, your mortuary of choice will likely pick up your dear wife's still beautiful corpse and include any charges in the funeral arrangements.

In the nearly impossible event that you have a guest die in your house, you will not be billed (unless your laws are VERY different from ours) for calling the PD or 911. Since it is fairly likely that the mortuary will remove the body, the person's estate/relatives will likely get the bill as part of the final arrangements. You might want to quit playing Russian Roulette as a parlor game, however, just on general principles.

Ruben, this thread has been going on all day. You better make the call pretty soon or you will have some 'splainin to do to the police when they arrive.

It is almost dark here. Would you please change the subject to something less creepy . . . like how many seniors will die horrible deaths when Obama care is enacted.


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## Brian Withnell

py3ak said:


> Perhaps, but wouldn't you rather _keep_ the life insurance, instead of giving it to the coroner? If you donate your body to science, you can avoid most if not all death-related expenses. The point at issue is making sure you avoid them all, while not putting yourself at any legal risk.


 
I'd have a question about donation ... if you die, and someone gets your kidney, then at the resurrection, who gets to keep it? You or the person to whom you donated it? 

If they are dead because they were breaking into your house and you were defending your home, then call the police, your lawyer, then your home owner's insurance ... the blood stains are tough to clean, and the police won't do anything for it. (BTW, when the police arrive, say nothing but that you are so upset that you need to be seen by a doctor ... don't answer *any* questions ... wait for your lawyer. Do not allow them to pressure you into answering for any reason, you want your lawyer there.)


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## py3ak

It's difficult for me to imagine being so upset that I would think being seen by a doctor would help me calm down.


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## Galatians220

py3ak said:


> That's reassuring, Margaret. Thank you! It does seem a bit harsh to add the trauma of massive, unexpected bills to the trauma of a dead body in your house. Unless someone chimes in otherwise, I will hold off on obtaining a savings account for deceased house guest body disposal expenses.
> 
> Now, say that someone had a card that donated their body to research: is it a _faux pas_ to call those people _before_ one contacts the local PD?
> 
> If you're in a hotel, is it courtesy or requirement to let the front desk know?


 
Strange you should bring up a death in a hotel. Just a week ago Tuesday, my husband's aunt died in a hotel in Biloxi, MS while on a gambling trip there. Her husband called the desk clerk, who called the police and the necessary arrangements for transport up here for a funeral and burial were made.

In Biloxi, the hotel insisted upon giving our uncle a limousine ride to the airport, and free food there until he left for same... _I didn't think to ask him which hotel it was that performed this noble deed. They've probably done it before..._

In Michigan, one indicates on one's driver's license whether one wants organ donations, etc. to occur. That wouldn't be my first idea as to where to look for that information, but that's Michigan (like, "forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown..." _And forget this forgettable movie reference._ ). Anyway, it's been my experience in being a "first arranger" for funerals in my family that the funeral director asks that question. Seems a little stupid to put it in one's will, considering it's usually a moot point by the time anyone gets around to reading the will.

Margaret


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## py3ak

That's interesting, Margaret. There is a _Fawlty Towers_ episode where a guest dies - John Cleese said he got the idea because he asked an hotelier friend of his what was a big problem in posh hotels, and the man replied that people would go there to die in a genteel way - but keeping what had happened from the other guests was a big concern.

I have a card in my wallet which my coworkers know to pull out and call if I should die at work; I am a little worried that having done that, they won't think to inform Heidi.


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## PuritanCovenanter

AThornquist said:


> TimV said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Yes, but now Ruben is prepared and can invite company over at last. It's all very convenient.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Wayne, was that a dig at Heidi's cooking?
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


I went over to Ruben's and Heidi's tonight for a few hours. Heidi made me a little pie. I love pie. It was most wonderful. She is an awesome cook. She has made me dinner before and I can't imagine the life of bliss a man who has such a wonderful wife. 

BTW, I left with my life intact. LOL


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## DMcFadden

Better keep a death watch on for the rest of the evening, Randy. I find it more than a little suspicious that Ruben was obsessing on people dying in his house just hours before he fed you. Hmmmmmmmm. Lucy, you've got a lot of 'splanin to do.


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## PuritanCovenanter

Diamonds in my eyes. Wow. LOL

NP yet. Lots of new stars though.. LOL


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## au5t1n

Something is _seriously wrong_ with you people and this thread! Please allow me to contribute some change to all of your therapy jars.


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## Pergamum

Strange, I was just talking about this topic a few days ago with a locally-born man here who now lives in the US, thus experiencing life in the East here and life in the West.

One illustration he used to describe how individualistic and enclosed we are in the US was to point out how old people can die in their homes and no one is around to know it for weeks, until the rot smells up the place and the police are called. 

He said, "That could NEVER happen here...how can Americans live so individualistically? Don't they care about other people..especially their parents and grandparents?"

OUCH.


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## Skyler

I was having a terrible time trying not to laugh while reading that thread. If I had, my mom would've asked what I was laughing at, and I'm not sure how she'd take it when I told her I was reading a thread about what to do when someone dies in your house.


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## py3ak

Pergamum said:


> Strange, I was just talking about this topic a few days ago with a locally-born man here who now lives in the US, thus experiencing life in the East here and life in the West.
> 
> One illustration he used to describe how individualistic and enclosed we are in the US was to point out how old people can die in their homes and no one is around to know it for weeks, until the rot smells up the place and the police are called.
> 
> He said, "That could NEVER happen here...how can Americans live so individualistically? Don't they care about other people..especially their parents and grandparents?"
> 
> OUCH.


 
That's not as bad as the man who was a proofreader for a major newspaper, I think it was the New York Times, who died at his desk and no one noticed for several days - he was always there earlier and left later than everyone else, so they thought nothing of it. Of course, as I remarked at the time, it's a little alarming that no one noticed he wasn't producing any work.


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## Contra_Mundum

*MEMO*: From Management.
*RE*: Employees dying on the job.

1. It has come to the attention of management that employees dying on the job are failing to fall down.

2. It thus becomes impossible to tell death from the actual movement of the staff.

3. Any employee found dead in an upright position will immediately be removed from the payroll.​
cc.
\Payroll
\Graves Registration
\Obituaries


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## jogri17

Or, solution: pass a public funded insurance plan that will cover dying in other person's homes.


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## Brian Withnell

py3ak said:


> It's difficult for me to imagine being so upset that I would think being seen by a doctor would help me calm down.


 
If you are ever in a situation in which you have to use deadly force, the probability is that you have done so because your own life (or someone you love) has been threatened. The adrenaline dump that accompanies such things is enough to make you jittery, and certainly is enough to make it impossible to respond intelligently to questions of the incident. The police want to find someone to charge with a crime, you want to make sure they don't have anyone to charge (and you in particular). The best solution is to say nothing but that you need to see a doctor.


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## py3ak

I can plead the 5th without submitting to medical prodding, surely. My point was that being seen by a doctor is reason enough to be jittery: unlike a nice cup of yerba mate, it is not relaxing.


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## Wayne

He's that PBS doctor that has a show on Sunday, isn't he? Dr. Yerba Mate?


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## rexfire

In my occupation I have unfortunately been on numerous DOA's (dead on arrivals). Basically upon finding and confirming (everyone should know CPR right) the person is dead call 911. We get there along with paramedics confirm it is a DOA make sure you are separated from pt and call for police and coroner. Police will interview you to determine if they will do anything further. The main thing is to once you have found the person deceased do not disturb the body. I once had a occupied house fire with a 3 yr old victim where it turned out the grand mother slept with the child and rolled over and suffocated the child in their sleep woke up, freaked out, set the house on fire to cover her mistake. Would she have got in trouble for mistakenly killing the child in her sleep? maybe but she did get in trouble for starting the fire.

Reactions: Sad 1


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## py3ak

Thank you, Mark. Do you know anything about potential costs? Also, what does "separated from pt" mean?


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