Short-form death certificates could help to reduce delays in the processing of the estates of deceased relatives, according to the Government.

The certificate became available in February after changes to regulations.

Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, issued the reminder today after complaints that probate claims were taking years to process.

The Supreme Court has since said that it is revising its procedures to speed up the process.

According to a Ministry of Home Affairs spokeswoman, medical practitioners, coroners, and funeral homes who ordinarily confirm the death of an individual by applying for the long-form certificate, are now able to submit the new form for processing.

The spokeswoman said: “If a medical practitioner is unable to determine the cause of death, the new short death notice can be submitted to the Registry General.

“The Registry General can then issue the necessary death certificate, which is required for probate to settle the deceased's affairs. This process will help families resolve matters more quickly and with less difficulty.”

The spokeswoman added that there have been no requests submitted for a short-form death certificate since they became available this year.

Mr Roban said that the new certificate provided a simplified version of the death record, including only essential details such as the deceased's demographic information and the facts of death, while omitting the cause of death.

He said: “In the interim, while we await updates to our existing computerised system from our system vendor, the department can produce short-form death certificates. This temporary measure ensures that medical practitioners can utilise this new option without delay.”

• More information can be obtained from the Department of the Registry General on 444-1953 or by e-mailing apennyman@gov.bm