What to do when someone close to you dies

The first hours: where the death happens

In a hospital or care home the staff confirm the situation, call a doctor and tell the family how to proceed. The deceased stays in the institution's care until the funeral home collects them; you do not need to arrange anything at this stage. If an expected death happens at home, call the treating doctor or the medical helpline 116 117. The doctor comes to confirm the death, and the deceased can remain at home until then. If the death is sudden or the cause unclear, call the emergency number 112. The police then arrange transport to a hospital for examination, and a forensic autopsy may be carried out. The funeral home can continue only once the police have released the deceased. In every case the family has time to say goodbye. Nothing about the funeral needs to be decided on the first day.

The death certificate and the burial permit

A death is always confirmed by a doctor. The doctor writes the death certificate and gives the burial permit to a relative or directly to the funeral home. The burial permit is the only document a burial or cremation requires; no separate permit from the authorities is needed. The permit must exist before the deceased can be buried or cremated, but arrangements can begin before it is ready. If the case involves a forensic investigation, the permit takes longer, and the cremation or burial cannot be scheduled until it is issued. Once the permit has been given to us, we deliver a copy to the Helsinki parish union's burial services, which need the doctor-signed permit before a cremation. The death is passed to the population register from the doctor's notification, so you do not need to report it separately to the authorities.

The first call to us

There is no deadline for the first call. The hospital or care home keeps the deceased properly, and most families call within a few days. You can call 09 6129 890 at any hour. In the first call it is enough to tell us who has died, where the deceased is now and who will act as the contact person. Our funeral adviser explains what happens next and agrees a meeting with you at our office at Annankatu 12, at your home or by phone. The meeting is free and does not commit you to anything. If you prefer, you can also start the arrangements online at your own pace; in the shared family space every relative sees the same choices, prices and schedule. The following details make the first conversation easier, but none of them is needed right away.

• The deceased's name, date of birth and home municipality
• Where the deceased is now: hospital, care home or home
• Whether the deceased belonged to the church
• Any known wishes about the form of burial or the ceremony
• The contact person's name and phone number

What we do next

Once you have contacted us, we handle the practical matters in order. We collect the deceased from the hospital, care home or home; transport in the Helsinki region costs 290 euros. The first transfer from a home or care home to the hospital cold room may take place in a transfer bag, but every later transport to the chapel, cemetery or crematorium is in the coffin. A coffin is always needed, also for cremation. We dress the deceased and place them in the coffin, which costs 180 euros. We forward the burial permit to the parish union's burial services, book the blessing time, chapel, pastor and the cremation or grave, and liaise with the florist and the memorial venue. Office service and documents cost 390 euros. Parish and crematorium fees are passed on unchanged, without margin. Every choice and its price is shown to you before you confirm it.

• Collection and transport of the deceased in the Helsinki region, 290 euros
• Dressing and placing in the coffin, 180 euros
• Office service and documents, 390 euros
• Parish and crematorium bookings; fees passed on unchanged
• Flowers, catering and the newspaper notice as you wish

What the family decides

In the end only a few things are left for you to decide. The first is the form of burial: cremation or burial in a coffin. The second is the character of the ceremony: a blessing in a church or chapel, a quiet farewell, or direct cremation without a ceremony at the coffin. After that you choose the coffin (from 520 euros), an urn if needed (from 95 euros), the flowers and the memorial gathering. If the deceased recorded their wishes in advance or spoke of them, the law requires that they be respected. The funeral is usually held within 2 to 4 weeks of the death, and blessing times in the Helsinki parish chapels run from Tuesday to Saturday. The decisions need not be made all at once; we agree them together at the planning visit or online, and every choice can still be changed before confirmation.

• Form of burial: cremation or coffin burial
• The form and place of the ceremony
• The coffin and, if needed, the urn
• Flowers for the coffin and the memorial table
• The memorial gathering: venue and catering
• A death notice in the newspaper, if you wish

Who may decide on the arrangements

The Burial Act sets out who may take care of the burial. If the deceased explicitly wished a certain person to handle the arrangements, that wish takes precedence. Otherwise the spouse or cohabiting partner and the closest heirs may take care of them. If none of them does, another close person may, and as a last resort the deceased's home municipality. The law also requires that the deceased's own conviction and wishes be respected in the form of burial, cremation and the handling of the ashes. If the family disagree about who decides or how the burial is carried out, the matter is settled by the district court of the deceased's home municipality. In practice it is enough that one relative is our contact person and the others take part in decisions through the shared family space, where everyone sees the same information.

Who is informed automatically and what you handle yourselves

The death is passed from the doctor's notification to the population register and from there to Kela, the banks and the pension providers. They do not need to be told separately. The bank blocks the deceased's online banking codes and cards once it learns of the death; using them after the death is unlawful. The accounts are managed in the estate's name with an extract from the population register and later with the estate inventory deed. Some matters remain for the family. Insurance companies are not informed automatically, so life insurance and burial benefits must be claimed by you. The employer, the housing company manager and the landlord are informed by relatives. Post can be redirected to the person managing the estate. Subscriptions, the phone contract, memberships, streaming services and e-invoices are cancelled, and social media accounts closed according to each platform's rules. None of this is urgent in the first days. See the guide Practical matters of the estate.

• Automatically: the population register, Kela, banks, pension providers
• Yourselves: insurance companies (life insurance, burial benefit)
• Yourselves: employer, housing manager or landlord
• Yourselves: post redirection, subscriptions, phone contracts and online accounts

Deadlines worth knowing

There are few deadlines around a funeral, but they are worth knowing. By law the deceased must be buried or cremated without undue delay; in practice the funeral is held within 2 to 4 weeks. After a cremation the ashes must be permanently placed in one place within a year. The estate inventory must be held within three months of the death, and the deed sent to the Tax Administration within one month of the meeting. A deed is always required, even when the estate has no assets or only debts. An extension can be applied for within the three months for a justified reason. We handle the estate inventory at a fixed price: 590 euros for funeral clients, 690 euros as a separate service. The price includes obtaining the documents, drafting the deed, two trustees and filing with the Tax Administration. See the guide Estate inventory: deadlines, parties and costs.

• The funeral: usually within 2 to 4 weeks of the death
• The estate inventory: within 3 months of the death
• The deed to the Tax Administration: within one month of the meeting
• Placing the ashes: within one year of the cremation

Who pays for the funeral

Funeral costs are paid from the estate's assets. The bank usually pays the funeral home's and the parish's invoices from the deceased's account against the invoice, even though access to the accounts has been blocked. Our invoice comes after the funeral, and the parish union invoices its own fees after the blessing. Funeral costs such as the coffin, transport, parish fees, flowers, the memorial gathering and the gravestone are deductible in the estate inventory, so keep the receipts. The typical total for a full funeral is between 2,500 and 5,000 euros; direct cremation without a ceremony costs around 1,000 euros in the Helsinki region. If the estate cannot cover the costs, social assistance for necessary funeral expenses can be applied for from the wellbeing services county's social services. We tell you every cost before you order, so the total stays under control. See the guide What a funeral costs in Finland.

What you can leave to us and the next step

You can leave to us everything that does not need your decision: collecting and transporting the deceased, placing them in the coffin, forwarding the burial permit, the parish and crematorium bookings, the flower orders, the newspaper notice, the memorial gathering arrangements and the estate inventory. You decide the form of burial, the character of the ceremony, the coffin, the flowers and the memorial gathering; we handle the rest and explain every step in advance. We serve in Finnish, Swedish and English in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen and the rest of Uusimaa. Call 09 6129 890 or book a planning visit at Annankatu 12; the visit is free. We also come to your home, and everything can be arranged entirely online. Our office is open on weekdays from 9 to 16, and the phone is answered around the clock. Courtyard parking is free, entry from the Uudenmaankatu 17 side.

Frequently asked questions