When a family member dies, what do you do first, which money can be withdrawn, and which fees can you skip?
Tips from this section that apply in the United States. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer.
If the person died in an accident, in a way you don't understand, or was found only after a long time alone, only the public security authorities can issue the death certificate. If the scene has been disturbed and things can't be explained, the certificate is hard to get. Without this paper, cremation, deregistering the household registration and insurance claims are all stuck. If you can't tell which kind it is, call 110 (China's police number) first. After the police arrive and finish their check, they will issue the certificate as usual.
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Mainland China only 9 tips
These tips describe mainland-China rules and do not apply in the United States; they are here for people living in China.
If the person died in a hospital, ask the hospital that was treating them to issue the death certificate. If they died a normal death at home, go to the community health service institution (社区卫生服务机构) or the township health clinic (乡镇卫生院) for the area where they lived. Where the cause of death is clear, it is issued within one day. Deregistering the household registration, cremation, withdrawing the housing provident fund (公积金), claiming social insurance benefits, insurance claims and inheritance all need it. Once you have it, make several extra copies.
Transporting, storing, embalming, preparing and cremating a body can only be done by a funeral home (殡仪馆). The hospital morgue does not arrange funerals; at most it lets the body rest there temporarily. A funeral home generally stores a body for no more than 3 days, and you must apply for an extension to keep it longer. Cremation requires the death certificate and a cremation confirmation form. The cremation certificate issued afterward is also needed for inheritance and insurance claims.
If you have doubts about the cause of death, you must request an autopsy within 48 hours of the death. If the hospital has refrigeration, this can be extended to 7 days. An autopsy also needs the written consent of the next of kin. If they don't sign, or the matter drags past the time limit, the responsibility for an unclear cause of death falls on the side that delayed. When you request the autopsy, ask also for the medical records to be sealed. Once the body is cremated, an autopsy can never be done.
In cities, the registration must be cancelled before burial; in rural areas, within one month. Take the death certificate and the household registration booklet to the police station. If you put it off, inheritance transfers, benefit claims and withdrawing from insurance will all be held up by the person's registration status.
Transporting and storing the body, the farewell, cremation, keeping the ashes, and eco-friendly burial are all on the national list of basic items. Burial of ashes in a niche provided by a public institution is on it too. The prices of these items are set according to the rules. Nothing outside the list may be added as a new charge. Before you set out, ask which items count as basic and what the local standard is, and only then discuss anything else.
These are all price violations named in the regulations: not posting a price list, charging more than the posted price, bundling funeral goods and forcing you to buy them, and forcing you to accept another company's paid services. Splitting one item into several charges also counts as a disguised price increase. On the spot, ask first for the price list and keep the payment receipts and chat records. Complaining afterward is still in time. For pricing, go to the market regulator (市场监管); for funeral services, go to civil affairs (民政).
Intermediaries such as funeral agents, goods purchasers, planners and hosts, and information advisers must register with the county-level civil affairs department. Those that haven't registered are not in the civil affairs department's funeral service information system. Whether you can check this yourself differs from place to place; the surest way is to call the county civil affairs department. Anyone who charges fees by deception or sells the deceased's information will be dealt with according to law.
Heirs can withdraw the housing provident fund (公积金) balance. It isn't in a bank account, so it is the easiest to miss. What is left in the personal account of the pension insurance can also be inherited. If the person died of illness, the family also receives a funeral subsidy and a survivor's allowance of 3 to 24 months. If the person died of a work-related cause, the three payments under work-injury insurance are paid in addition.
After a person has died, their next of kin, for their own lawful and proper interests, can ask a platform to let them view, copy, correct or delete the deceased's personal information. If the platform refuses, it has to give its reasons. You can also sue in court. There is one exception: if the person made other arrangements while alive, such as naming an account heir or leaving a clear wish, those arrangements are followed.
