Disclaimer - This is not legal advice, it is simply information I have gathered and should be verified before following it.
When someone dies at home or otherwise in Trinidad and Tobago the process is simple but has a lot of running around to be done.
This is the information provided by the government -click here for link- It is severely lacking information as is typical.
First you can call the police to the home or location of death. You can get a list of local police stations by clicking here. You would also need to call a doctor who can declare the person dead at the scene and they would have the paperwork to give to the government offices you would need to visit to get the death certificate.
The next call would be to a funeral home who would have a person on standby 24 hours per day and 7 days a week to retrieve the body. Once the person is declared deceased, the police will investigate the scene and give the clearance for the body to be removed.
You would need the form from the doctor to declare the death. The funeral home would prepare the body for burial or cremation. Each county has their own Birth and Death Registrar and you must register the death in the county in which the person has died.
List of Country Medical Offices - https://health.gov.tt/services/county-medical-officers-of-health
For a Muslim death or after hours service, there is a person on standby or on call to register the death.
In order to register a death, you need to have the birth certificate for the person. This has to be the birth certificate from whatever country they were born in. This means if the person was born abroad you need a foreign certificate but if they were born in Trinidad and Tobago you would need to get a copy of the TT one. You can apply for this at the Offices listed below than come back to the regional
office. The old hand written Trinidad and Tobago version can be used to register the death.
http://www.news.gov.tt/content/new-polymer-certificates-births-deaths-and-marriages
The form you get from the registrar in the county is then taken to any one of the registrar General's offices. All offices should be able to produce the polymer death certificate on the same day you visit.
In order to have a cremation you would need to apply to the closest police station for a permit to cremate a body. You would also have to pay a fee the the regional corporation responsible for the area where the cremation site. For example you would need to visit the Siparia Regional Corporation to pay the fee for the Mosquito Creek cremation site.
Most funeral homes would guide you through the process or have a copy of all the forms handy. There may be an additional fee if you want them to do the running around for you to get all the necessary documents.
National Insurance Board Funeral Grant Information ($7,500 TTD? $7,000? government sites say both and I am not sure if you are only allowed one or both for the Social Services grant and NIB benefit).
In order to register a death, you need to have the birth certificate for the person. This has to be the birth certificate from whatever country they were born in. This means if the person was born abroad you need a foreign certificate but if they were born in Trinidad and Tobago you would need to get a copy of the TT one. You can apply for this at the Offices listed below than come back to the regional
office. The old hand written Trinidad and Tobago version can be used to register the death.
http://www.news.gov.tt/content/new-polymer-certificates-births-deaths-and-marriages
The form you get from the registrar in the county is then taken to any one of the registrar General's offices. All offices should be able to produce the polymer death certificate on the same day you visit.
List of all County Registrar and Registrar General's offices - https://agla.gov.tt/home/contact-us/
In order to have a cremation you would need to apply to the closest police station for a permit to cremate a body. You would also have to pay a fee the the regional corporation responsible for the area where the cremation site. For example you would need to visit the Siparia Regional Corporation to pay the fee for the Mosquito Creek cremation site.
Most funeral homes would guide you through the process or have a copy of all the forms handy. There may be an additional fee if you want them to do the running around for you to get all the necessary documents.
National Insurance Board Funeral Grant Information ($7,500 TTD? $7,000? government sites say both and I am not sure if you are only allowed one or both for the Social Services grant and NIB benefit).
Link 1 - https://www.nibtt.net/benefits_09/ben_funeral.html
Link 2 - https://www.social.gov.tt/general-assistance-grants/
Additional info
Most news papers and radio stations will allow a free obituary announcement.
Ask around the neighborhood for a contact for a 'mic man' who can announce the death. It usually costs a few hundred dollars. You could either have a person sit in the car or give a recording to them.
If I am missing anything, please comment to let me know.
Topics
What to do when someone dies in Trinidad and Tobago
How to register a death in Trinidad and Tobago
If a foreigner dies in Trinidad and Tobago
What to do when a non national dies in Trinidad
How to send human remains back to a foreign country
How to announce a death dead person on newspapers
What to do when someone parent sister brother parent mom dad son daughter neighbour dies at home
Link 2 - https://www.social.gov.tt/general-assistance-grants/
Additional info
Most news papers and radio stations will allow a free obituary announcement.
Ask around the neighborhood for a contact for a 'mic man' who can announce the death. It usually costs a few hundred dollars. You could either have a person sit in the car or give a recording to them.
If I am missing anything, please comment to let me know.
Topics
What to do when someone dies in Trinidad and Tobago
How to register a death in Trinidad and Tobago
If a foreigner dies in Trinidad and Tobago
What to do when a non national dies in Trinidad
How to send human remains back to a foreign country
How to announce a death dead person on newspapers
What to do when someone parent sister brother parent mom dad son daughter neighbour dies at home
