Death of a child

Information to guide you through what to do when a child has died.

Register the death
Arrange the funeral
Choose if you want a Burial or a Cremation
Sort payment
Memorials
Grief support

Register the death

If the death happened in outside Trafford

Contact the relevant local authority for direction to the appropriate Register Office, and they will guide you on how to register the death.

If the death happened within Trafford

Consult the Trafford Register Office where you will find instructions on how to register the death.

There are some differences to the process of registering when registering the death of a child instead of an adult, depending on the age of the child.

A non-viable pregnancy

A foetus aged under 24 weeks does not need to be registered.

Stillborn child

A stillborn child is defined as a child born after the 24th week of pregnancy, who did not at any time after being born breathe or show any other signs of life. A stillborn child must be registered within 12 months. This is a legal requirement.

People with a legal responsibility to register include:

If the parents of the child were married to each other at the time of the still-birth, either the mother or the father may register.
If the parents were not married to each other at the time of the still-birth, then it is the mother who will need to register the birth and whose details will be entered into the register. There are some circumstances in which the father’s details will be entered into the register. The relevant Register Office will be able to advise you of these circumstances if you wish.
A person who is responsible for the still-born child
A person who was present when then child was still-born
The occupier of the premises where the child was still-born, if they knew of it happening
The person arranging the funeral, this does not mean the Funeral Director
Where the place and date of the still-birth are unknown: the person who found the stillborn child

In the case of a stillborn child, the attending midwife or doctor will issue a Certificate of Still Birth, and you will need to bring this with you to the Register Office.

After registering the death, you should have received the following documents from the Register Office:

A ‘White Form’ - This form enables you to arrange the funeral

A child under the age of 18 years

A child under the age of 18 years must be registered within 5 days from the date of death. This is a legal requirement.

People with a legal responsibility to register include:

A relative of the child
A person present at the death
The occupier of the premises where the death occurred, if they knew of it happening
The person arranging the funeral, this does not mean the Funeral Director

In the case of a child under 18 years of age, the doctor who was treating the child will automatically issue a Medical Certificate of Cause of Death to the appropriate Register Office – this is usually done electronically. If the Coroner has been involved, the relevant Coroner's office will advise you of what to do.

After registering the death, you should have received the following documents from the Register Office:

A 'Green Form’ – This form enables you to arrange the funeral. If the Coroner is involved different procedures may apply
Form BD8/344 – This form will be necessary for some Social Security purposes.
A Death Certificate – This is the legal document certifying that a person has died. There will be a statutory fee for this certificate.

If the death has occurred overseas, the process of registering the death is different. Further information is available on the General Register Office website.

Arrange the funeral

If you have recently lost a child and you are now faced with arranging a funeral, we can provide you with help and advice on the steps required to take.

Using a Funeral Director

Whilst you do not need to hire a Funeral Director to organise a funeral, it is often worth considering that Funeral Directors are professionals who have plenty of experience with organising funerals – as such, they will be aware of processes, logistics, and arrangements that need to be made.

Importantly, having a Funeral Director carry out these services on your behalf can also relieve any undue pressures and stress from the bereaved.

Typically, a Funeral Director will:

Arrange for collection of the body
Arrange for any embalming and/or a viewing of the body
Provide a coffin or casket
Provide a hearse and cover any logistical arrangements

Funeral Directors will provide a standard funeral free of charge for a child under the age of 18 years.

However, it is important to remember that a Funeral Director is operating a business and will charge accordingly for any extra services outside of the standard package provide. In addition, employing a Funeral Director will mean that the bereaved will need to comply with some commercial restrictions – such as access to the body of the child being limited by business hours.

Arranging the funeral yourself

Some people do not wish to use a Funeral Director, for a wide variety of reasons, and prefer to organise the funeral themselves. Such a funeral is often referred to as ‘Personalised’ or ‘Independent’ funeral, and is a personal decision that requires no explanation.

It is important to remember that these funerals will be different because traditional funeral elements may be unobtainable. For example, some Funeral Directors do not offer a hearse for hire service and some do not sell coffins or caskets as individual items.

Funeral Facilitators

Those organising a funeral themselves may considering hiring a Funeral ‘Facilitator’. A Funeral Facilitator will provide assistance with organisation and logistics, such as assistance handling the body or facilitating hearse hire, without taking on the entirety of the funeral organisation like a traditional Funeral Director will. There will be a charge for these services.

Some palliative care nurses may also offer assistance with handling the body, if the child has passed away at home.

Public health funerals

Sometimes, it is not possible for a private funeral to be arranged. For example:

if there is no known next of kin
the bereaved are unable to make arrangements for the funeral
there are insufficient funds to do so

In this case, where no other suitable arrangements can be made, we can arrange for a Public Health Funeral to take place.

This will mean that the body of the child is taken into the care of the government, and all rights to manage organisation of the funeral and burial/cremation are waived by the next of kin. We will arrange for a simple service with a contracted Funeral Director.

More information about fees and charges. For details of financial aid available for funeral costs, see our help and support page.

Choose if you want a Burial or a Cremation

You will need to choose if you wish for the child to be buried or cremated. You can find more information of both burials and cremations, as well as our cemeteries and crematorium to help you decide.

Baby Garden

For those children who have died under the age of 2 years old, there is a special Baby Garden of Remembrance available at Dunham Lawn Cemetery, at no extra charge.

If you would like your child to be interred in the Baby Garden, let your Funeral Director or Trafford Bereavement Services know when making your arrangements.

Sort payment

Whilst Funeral Directors and Trafford Bereavement Services provide standard services free of charge for a child under the age of 18 years, there may be charges for any extra services outside of the standard package that has been provided.

If you have used a Funeral Director to arrange your funeral and burial or cremation services, they will manage the necessary payments and invoice you directly.

If you have made organisations yourself through Trafford Bereavement Services, contact the office directly to arrange payment. Payment can be made by debit or credit card over the telephone. Cheques should be made payable to Trafford Council.

Further information about fees and charges. For details of financial aid available for funeral costs, see our help and support page.

Memorials

There are a range of memorial options available to you across our cemeteries and crematorium. For further details of your options, see our memorials page.

Grief support

There is support available for those grieving the loss of a child, some of which are listed below. These services are free of charge and available to everyone.

For more general support with grief, see the help and support page.