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有人認為，紅白二事是人生最重要的事，我們知道很多時髦的老友記，已經預早為自己的身後事打點，所以這一節「長者法網智多聲」，就跟大家說一下安排身後事。
在舉行任何安葬儀式之前，死者的家屬或朋友，必須要先為死者領取死亡登記記項核證副本，亦即死亡證。
在香港，現時最普遍的遺體處理方式，就是火葬。政府轄下有六個火葬場，食物環境衛生署的火葬預約聯合辦事處會處理火葬申請。
安置靈灰方面，市民一般都會選擇放在骨灰龕位。所有靈灰安置所都必須得到食環署批准才可以經營。如果您選擇的私人靈灰安置所沒有獲食環署發牌，就要留意了。因為靈灰安置所如果不符合法例或租賃條件，政府可以不批准它們再運作。如果您已經向這些無牌安置所付錢，法律上會視為是訂立了普通合約協議，要打官司才可以追討賠償。為了保障公眾利益，政府正制訂《私營骨灰龕條例》新法例，而在新法例實施之前，選擇靈灰安置所時，要留意它們是否符合所有法律和政府要求，簽約或付錢之前，最好跟負責人搞清楚，安置所一旦結業，會如何賠償。
相比火葬，土葬要花費的錢就比較多。食環署轄下有四個公眾墳場，香港一些宗教和其他團體，亦有經營私營墳場。公眾墳場的骨殖，必須在埋葬六年之後撿拾。
近年政府提倡一些新的處理靈灰方式，其中一種是將骨灰撒在政府管理的八個紀念花園。另一種被視為較環保的方式，就是海上撒灰。公眾可以將靈灰撒在本港三個指定海域之內。有關所有殮葬儀式的詳細資料，大家可以參考長者社區法網文字版，或到食環署網頁看看。
如果想將遺體運到香港以外的地方殮葬也可以的，只要先在死亡登記處申請許可證，以及獲得該地點的大使館或領事館批准，就可以自費安排運走遺體。
不要以為過身以後，只剩下一副臭皮囊，其實死後也可以做善事的。香港有不少病人都在等待器官移植，捐贈器官就可以為他們帶來重生的希望。大家可以到衛生署設立的器官捐贈登記網站，或填寫器官捐贈卡，登記捐贈器官，同時告訴家人您的意願，因為過身之後，還要獲得家屬同意，醫護人員才可以取走器官。器官捐贈並沒有絕對的年齡限制，好像是眼角膜，80歲以下的都可以使用，皮膚捐贈就更是多少歲也可以。
除了我們的網頁，食環署的網頁也備有「辦理身後事須知」小冊子，可以讓大家多點了解如何辦理身後事。希望這一節的資訊可以幫到大家吧。拜拜。
PrintPlace of death
Discovery of death at home
When a family member discovers that a loved one is suspected to be near death or already dead, it is common to report the case to the police for investigation and have paramedics transport the individual to the Accident and Emergency Department of a hospital. If death is confirmed during this process or if the cause of death is unclear, or if the patient dies within 24 hours of admission, the case is classified as an unnatural death. The body will be transferred to a public mortuary and the case has to be reported to the Coroner. During this process, family members need to meet with a forensic pathologist. They may request an exemption from an autopsy due to the deceased’s old age and medical history, etc. However, even after the case is reported by the police and forensic pathologist, the Coroner may still order an autopsy for further investigation into the cause of death.
Home-based hospice care and passing away
If family members wish to provide home-based hospice care for a patient until the patient passes away, they should note that, according to the Coroners Ordinance (Cap. 504), if the patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness, or has been treated by a registered doctor within 14 days before their passing and dies naturally at home, the case does not need to be reported to the Coroner, and the deceased does not need to be sent to a public mortuary nor undergo an autopsy.
When a patient is in the end-of-life stage or diagnosed with a terminal illness, family members (and the patient) can consult the attending doctor to determine if home care is suitable. Family members need to jointly assess whether they can afford additional expenses, whether medical equipment and supplies need to be added to the home, understand caregiver human resources and late-stage care capabilities, and find a suitable home medical team.
A registered doctor must visit the patient at least once every two weeks and provide appropriate palliative treatment during the final stage. Subsequently, they should hire the staff of the licensed undertaker of burials to inspect the patient’s home and nearby sites to discuss and develop appropriate methods and routes for transporting the body.
According to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), after a patient passes away at home, the body must not be stored at home for more than 48 hours. Therefore, after accompanying the patient during their passing at home, the family must immediately notify the doctors and funeral providers they have hired, and the body must not be moved during this period.
The registered doctor should promptly visit the home to assess the patient’s death with an electrocardiogram and sign the Medical Certificate of the Cause of Death (Form 18) and the Medical Certificate (Cremation) (Form 2). These documents should be immediately handed over to the funeral director or family member, who will go to the Deaths Registries in Wan Chai or Sham Shui Po to handle the death registration, act as the informant, and obtain the “Certified Copy of a Death Entry” (commonly known as “death certificate”) and the Certificate of Registration of Death (Form 12) (commonly known as “going-out pass”). After the documents are prepared and returned home, the funeral service staff and hearse team can transport the deceased’s body to a legally operated private institution or funeral home mortuary for storage.
Family members also need to pay attention to the details of handling the deceased’s body. Since the doctor may not be able to arrive immediately after the person’s death to confirm the death and sign the death documents, and the person’s death may occur in the afternoon or evening, it may not be possible to complete the Certificate of Registration of Death (Form 12) on the same day. As a result, the deceased’s body needs to be stored at home until the next day when all the death documents are completed before it can be removed from the residence. Therefore, funeral and mortuary providers need to have professional knowledge of body preservation and prevention of decomposition and cannot rely on the temperature of home air conditioning as an effective method for preserving the body.
If family members need to handle the death registration for the deceased on a Sunday or public holiday, they must go to the ” The Births and Deaths General Register Office” located in Admiralty. The registration time is from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. After completing the death registration process, funeral providers can be arranged to transport the deceased’s body away from the residence.
Passing away in residential care homes
On June 3, 2024, the government announced that according to Coroners Ordinance (Cap. 504) and the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap 174), deaths of residents of residential care homes for the elderly or residential care homes for people with disabilities are not required to be reported to the Coroner’s Court if the residents concerned were diagnosed as having terminal illnesses and had been attended to by a registered doctor within 14 days before their deaths, and the causes of death stated in certificates of the cause of death of the deceased are natural causes.
If a patient is in a hospice ward of a residential care home and passes away there, family members need to maintain good communication and arrangements with the residential care home. The process of handling death documents and body transfers after the person’s passing is similar to that required for Home-based Hospice Care in the previous section.