Births, marriages, deaths

When we arrange a funeral

If a person dies in a Liverpool hospital without any family, the hospital must arrange their funeral.

If a person dies anywhere else in Liverpool without family or funeral instructions, we will arrange and pay for the funeral.

We will also arrange a funeral if a family refuses to do so. In this case, the family will have no say in any funeral arrangements.

These funerals are known as public health funerals, which are a statutory duty under the Public Health Act.

How it works

The council’s property protection officer will deal with referrals from the coroners, adult social care, care homes and hostels. All referrals should be forwarded to property@liverpool.gov.uk.

The property protection officer should be the first person after the police to enter the property.

If the Coroner and police have been involved, a preliminary search for next of kin will have already been done.

We will conduct a search of the last known address of the deceased. This will focus on finding a will, evidence of family and any items that may be used to offset the funeral costs.

If the deceased has a family, the nearest surviving relative must sign a form to state that they are willing for the council to take over funeral arrangements and understand that costs will be recovered from the estate.

The arrangements we make

We will deal with all aspects of organising the funeral. This includes registering the death, dealing with our contracted funeral directors and paying for the funeral.

We will arrange a cremation and make sure the funeral is carried out by a minister or celebrant in the faith of the deceased. The ashes are then scattered if no-one collects them.

If we find a burial plot in the person’s name we will use it. If we cannot find a plot and we believe the person wanted to be buried, we will use an unmarked grave in either Anfield Cemetery or Springfield Cemetery.

Family and friends of the deceased are welcome to attend funeral services.

What we will pay for

  • Collection of the deceased
  • Oak casket or similar
  • Chapel of rest (there is no viewing of the deceased)
  • Arrangement and supervision of the funeral service, including doctor's and celebrant fees
  • Cost of burial and cremation

Public health funerals are simple services - we do not pay for additional cars or floral tributes.

How we pay for the funeral and recover costs

We recover the cost of all public health funerals from the person’s estate.

We can remove items from the person’s home, such as jewellery, and sell them six months after the funeral. If the family has already removed items from the home we will ask them to return them.

If the person owned a property, our solicitors will put it up for sale.

Unclaimed estates

Once the funeral costs are paid, we hand all remaining estate funds over £500 to the Duchy of Lancaster under Bona Vacantia.

The government’s Bona Vacantia Division lists all unclaimed estates valued over £500.

Search the unclaimed estates list

Please note: Farrer & Co Solicitors deal with the estates of people who died in the Duchy of Lancaster or Duchy of Cornwall.

Funerals we have paid for

You can view details of public health funerals in the spreadsheet below:

Need to know more?

Please contact us if you would like to know more about public health funerals, how we recover funeral costs, or you have a question about an unclaimed estate.