When a death occurs

What to do in the event of death?

 

Losing a loved one is among life’s most difficult and emotional experiences. Our thoughts are with you during this challenging time. The following is a list of important steps to take when death occurs:

Please contact us: (514) 695-7979 (24/7)

Transferring 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:

  1. Call Voluntas 514-695-7979 (24/7) to inform us of the death.
  2. 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.
  3. We will arrange an appointment with you to discuss the services sought.

In the event of an anticipated at-home death:

  1. 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 to confirm the death by correspondence (at-home service Urgence-santé or other medical resource).
  2. Afterwards, call Voluntas to inform us of the death of your loved one at 

(514) 695-7979 (24/7) so that our team can arrange the transfer of your loved one into our care.

  1. An appointment will be arranged with you to discuss the services sought.

In the event of an unexpected death at home or elsewhere:

  1. First and foremost, contact the emergency services at 911. The Urgences-santé team will arrive on the premises where the death has occurred. The death will be confirmed remotely by an on-call Urgences-santé physician.
  2. If the death occurred under unclear circumstances the coroner might need to investigate. The coroner’s team will take care of transferring the deceased to the coroner’s office.
  3. 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, you need to discuss this with the healthcare team so that proper steps may be taken within a reasonable timeframe. An organ and/or tissue 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 with the following steps:

  • Planning the care of the deceased (funerary shower, embalming, 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. 
  • 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 and/or website.
  • Coordinating the use of audio/video equipment, catering service, flowers, bookmarks, dove/butterfly fly release, etc.
  • Coordinating the presence of a minister, priest, celebrant or master of ceremony. 
  • Coordinating the services of musicians.
  • Repatriating the body or cremated remains of your loved one, should it be from another country, province, or city.

Need help with requests not 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 government steps:

  1. The registration of death with the Directeur de l’état civil du Québec and the request for official death certificates to be mailed to you.
  2. The application for benefits with Retraite Quebec: the Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), Public-sector pension plan (RREGOP, PPMP, etc.) or the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).
  3. Notifying Old Age Security (OAS) of the death.
  4. Notifying other governmental bodies where applicable (RAMQ, SAAQ, CNESST, etc.).

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.

Settlement of a Succession:

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:

Have any more questions? We probably have the answer, so don’t hesitate to contact us at (514) 695-7979.

Information required for registration of death:

This form contains required information for us to fill the declaration of death from Civil Status of Quebec as well as taking care of some governmental forms for you, when applicable. (Death benefit under the Quebec Pension Plan or Canada Pension Plan, Survival’s spouse pension under the Quebec Pension Plan or Canada Pension Plan, cancellation of Old Age Security, ordering the death certificates from Civil Status)

If you prefer to withhold some information until we meet, please leave it blank and proceed to next question.