Checklist if your child dies
This checklist mentions things that you must arrange or that you should know if your child dies. Not all of the items need necessarily concern you, because the list does not take into account the child's age.
We are sincerely sorry for your loss.
- Hospitals and care providers send information about a patient's death to the population information system maintained by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and for instance Kela and the pension providers obtain the information from the system.
- In case of a sudden death somewhere else than in a hospital or care facility, the police should be notified. If needed, the police arranges an investigation into the cause of death and forwards the information.
- Kela receives information about the child's death from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency and on the basis of the information sends you a letter stating that payment of the child benefit will end due to the death of the child.
- You can also yourself notify Kela of the death of the child. The notification should be made as soon as possible since benefits must be paid back if they have been paid after the month of the child's death.
- If the child died during childbirth or soon afterwards, Kela pays pregnancy or parental allowance for certain time.
- If the child had assets or a bank account, you should notify the bank of the child's death. The notifications must be made in writing.
- Also notify the insurance company, if the child had a life insurance policy or some other insurance policy.
- You can arrange the funeral yourself or ask an undertaker to arrange it.
- An estate inventory meeting must also be held after the death of a child even if there are no assets.
- If the child was active in social media or other online services, you should remember to terminate his or her accounts. Different services have differing instructions for how you terminate an account. If you know the user IDs and passwords, you can in some services terminate the accounts using these user IDs and passwords.
The website of your insurance company can also provide useful information.