Guide for families
When someone dies at home: what happens, in order
Most people go through this once and nobody explains it beforehand. This is the sequence in Westchester County, from the first phone call to the day the home is yours to deal with.
The first day
Make the right first call
If the person was under hospice care, phone the hospice; the nurse on call takes it from there. For any death you did not expect, call 911.
Leave the person and the room as they are
Do not move them, tidy up or open windows. Officers will ask who found them, when they were last seen and which medicines they took. Have the doctor's name ready.
The medical examiner's office is told
The Westchester County Medical Examiner looks into deaths that are sudden, unexplained, violent or unattended, and deaths under hospice care outside a hospital are reported to it as well. Its staff are on duty around the clock.
An examination, if one is needed
The medical examiner decides whether to do an autopsy or an external examination. Consent from the next of kin is not required, and the county bears the cost. If the family objects on religious or cultural grounds, tell the office right away on 914-231-1600.
Choose a funeral home
Phone the funeral home you want and tell them the person is with the medical examiner at 10 Dana Road in Valhalla. The office releases directly to the funeral home once its examination is done.
Things families are often unsure about
Identifying the person
The office says families usually do not need to come in for this. If it is necessary, they will contact you.
"Pending further studies"
If the cause of death is recorded this way, tests such as toxicology are still running. It does not hold up the release to the funeral home.
The autopsy report
It is requested by mail from the medical examiner's office, there is a fee, and the office says reports generally take sixteen weeks or longer.
Death certificates
The medical examiner does not issue them. The funeral director can usually order copies for you. Later copies come from the registrar of the city, town or village where the death happened, which is not always where the person lived.
For a death in Yonkers that is the City Clerk's Office at City Hall. Each town page on this site names the office for that place.
Order more copies than you think you need. Banks, insurers, the pension office and the landlord will each want one.
And then the home
Once the police have said the home is released, what remains is yours to arrange. After a peaceful death found quickly there may be nothing to do beyond laundry. After a death that involved blood, or one that was not discovered for days, the room needs a specialist.
Lock up, take the keys, and if the home is rented tell the landlord or managing agent that a death has occurred. Then call (914) 979-7472 when you are ready. There is no deadline, though with an undiscovered death sooner is easier on the building and the neighbors.
If nobody can afford a funeral, the medical examiner's office suggests asking a funeral home about options, or phoning the Westchester County Public Administrator on 914-995-3700.
After-a-death questions
Does Westchester require clearance before a cremation?
The medical examiner's office says the county does not require cremation clearance. Your funeral director handles the remaining paperwork.
Can we ask for a private autopsy?
The county office does not perform them, but it can give you contact details for pathologists who do.
Once the police hand the home back, phone
The person who answers works for an independent cleanup firm active in and around Yonkers. Put any question to them. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Phone answered at every hour, weekends and holidays included
Calls can be recorded. How that works: privacy, and how this service is paid.