When a death occurs
What to do in the event of death?
The death of a loved one is one of the most stressful events one will experience. Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time. The following is a list of things to do when a death occurs:
Please contact us: (514) 695-7979 (24/7)
Transfer of your loved one into our care:
In the event of a death occurring in a health institute: in the hospital, a CHSLD, a care center, a palliative care residence, or other:
- Call Voluntas 514-695-7979 (24/7) to inform us of the death;
- With your authorization, we will contact the health institution where the death has occurred and arrange the transfer of your loved one into our care;
- An appointment will be arranged to discuss the services sought.
In the event of an anticipated at-home death:
- Ask your home-care team to guide you as to who to call to attest the death. Either a doctor will pass-by your home or the medical team will communicate with the responsible resource for attesting the death by correspondence (at-home service by Info-Santé or Urgence-santé);
- Afterwards, call Voluntas to inform us of the passing of your loved one at (514) 695-7979 (24/7) so that our team can take your loved one under our care.
- An appointment will be arranged to discuss the services sought.
In the event of an unexpected death at home or elsewhere:
- First and foremost, contact the emergency services at 911. The Urgences-santé team will arrive on the premises of the death. The attestation of death will be written by correspondence by an on-call Urgences-santé physician.
- If the death occurred under unclear circumstances the coroner might need to investigate. The coroner’s office team will take care of transferring the deceased to the coroner’s office.
- Then, contact Voluntas to inform us of the death at (514) 695-7979 (24/7); no matter the situation, we will be able to guide you through the next steps.
Please note that if your loved one wanted to donate their organs and/or tissues don de ses organes ou de tissus, you need to discuss this with the healthcare team so that proper steps may be taken within a reasonable timeframe. An organ and/or tissues donation will not prevent, in any way, the presence of funeral rites.
Our services:
According to your needs, our team will be able to help you in the following steps:
- Planning the care of the deceased (funerary shower, embalmment, esthetic care, dressing, etc.);
- Planning visitation or gatherings with the casket or urn present, whether in our funeral home or in a venue of your choice;
- Organizing a celebration of life in honour of the deceased;
- Proceeding to the cremation or aquamation;
- Coordinating the burial of the casket or the urn with the cemetery of your choice, no matter the geographic location;
- Obtaining and preparing the documents for transporting the body or cremated remains outside of Quebec;
- Coordinating the obituary with newspapers or website;
- Coordinating the rental of audio/video equipment, catering service, dove/butterfly fly-off service, purchase of flowers or bookmarks, etc.;
- Coordinating the presence of a minister, priest, celebrant or master of ceremony;
- Repatriating the body or cremated remains of your loved one, should it be from another country, province or city.
Need help with one of the requests mentioned above? We can certainly help you, contact us at (514) 695-7979.
Administrative procedures :
The Voluntas team will also help you with many administrative and governmental steps:
- The registration of death with the Directeur de l’état civil du Québec and the request for official certificates to be mailed to you;
- The application for benefits with the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) or the Canada Pension Plan (CPP);
- Notifying Old Age Security (OAS) of the death;
- Notifying any other governmental bodies applicable of the death.
To do so, we will need information regarding the deceased person. To send us the list of required information securely, please fill out and transmit the secured form at the bottom of this page.
Succession regulations:
For all steps regarding succession regulations, your best resource will be your notary. Do not hesitate to contact us at (514) 695-7979 if you need references for a notary in the West Island of Montreal. The following links will be helpful for the administrative intricacies of succession regulations:
- Will search guideline (Will search)
- What to do in the event of death from Services Québec
- The Quebec Chamber of Notaries Chambre des notaires du Québec
- The Quebec Bar Association Barreau du Québec
- Main steps in settling a succession Éducaloi
Have any more questions? We probably have the answer, so don’t hesitate to contact us at (514) 695-7979.