When our sibling has died by suicide

One of a series of leaflets published by The Compassionate Friends What happens next • Following sudden, unexplained death there is always a post- mortem and an investigation. The police will be involved. • The coroner will usually open an inquest within days, but the actual inquest hearing might not take place until many months later. (In Scotland an inquest is called an investigation.) • The funeral cannot take place until the coroner has given permission. This usually happens within a few weeks. • The deceased’s next of kin is legally responsible for arranging the funeral, burial or cremation. If your sibling was married or in a civil partnership, this will be their spouse. If not, and your parents are still living, they will be directly responsible. Either way, there is no guarantee that you will be invited to help with the arrangements. If this is something you want to do, you may need to speak up. Suicide is sometimes seen as newsworthy. Local news outlets may publish articles following suicide. However, there is an Editors’ Code of Practice which should protect your family from insensitive media intrusion. Find out how to complain here: ipso.co.uk/complain • The inquest is open to the public and might be attended by members of the press. If you would like to know more about inquests and coping with legal proceedings, including managing media attention, visit this link: tcf.org.uk/legalhelp