Interests of the family
How involved can the family be?
The Coronial Services of New Zealand wants to ensure that the immediate family is involved in the process as much as they wish, or need, to be. There will be certain matters that the family needs to be advised of, and perhaps information will be requested from the family during the process of investigating the death.
Any member of the immediate family who wishes to be kept informed of any inquiry should contact the appointed Coronial Services Co-ordinator and provide contact details. The immediate family can choose to elect a family representative to act on their behalf.
What about our cultural needs?
Every effort will be made to recognise the spiritual and cultural beliefs surrounding the death of your loved one. The coroner will be aware during the decision-making process of the need to minimise distress to the family who, by reason of these spiritual and cultural beliefs, finds a post-mortem offensive and who requires the deceased to be available to the family as soon as possible after death. Where circumstances and the coroner allow, the immediate family may be able to remain with, or within a reasonable distance of, the deceased while they are in the care of the coroner.
If the family so desires, and if authorised by the coroner, a doctor, nurse, funeral director or any other person may be able to attend a post-mortem as a representative of the family.
How long will the process take?
Each death is different and unique, so there is no set timetable as to when and how things will happen. The immediate family will be kept informed of progress as much as possible throughout any inquiry or inquest that may be opened by the coroner.
