Your choices
What to do when someone dies
Funeral cost

Arrange a funeral

How can we help?

From the moment you first contact us we will do everything we can to relieve you of the burden of making arrangements. We’ll do our very best to understand your wishes and to do things the way you want them doing.

We’ll arrange to meet with you, either at our funeral home in Bank Street, Galashiels or in your own home if you would prefer. We’ll need to take some details about the person who has died and about you and we’ll begin to understand the arrangements you would like us to help you make.

If the death has occurred at home or in a nursing home we will arrange for your loved one to be taken to our chapel of rest in Bank Street, Galashiels where they will cared for until the day of the funeral.

If the death occurs in hospital we will liaise with the hospital authorities on your behalf to obtain the necessary paperwork and to have your loved one brought into our care as soon as we can.

Let us take care of everything

We can take care of everything for you including:

  • Advising on the registration of the death
  • Arranging all necessary paperwork
  • Liaising with doctors/hospital
  • Booking the church/crematorium/cemetery
  • Design and print of orders of service and funeral stationery
  • Arranging any floral tributes or donations to charities if preferred.
  • Drafting and placing newspaper notices – local and national
  • Limousines and transportation
  • Catering
  • Repatriation to other parts of the UK & Ireland and the rest of the world

We can suggest and advise on hymns and music to be included in the funeral service. If you wish we can organise for personalised orders of service to be printed. Pew cards or cards of attendance are also available.

We will guide you every step of the way in order to provide the type of service you wish. Modern, traditional, religious, non-religious, woodland or environmental – the choice is yours. If there is a special requirement or desire which will not compromise the dignity of the deceased or occasion please ask.

What to do when someone dies

If someone dies at home

If death occurs during the night and is sudden and unexpected, the doctor should be notified at once. Otherwise you can call the doctor in the morning.

The doctor will:

  • either issue a medical certificate of cause of death, needed by the registrar, provided that there are no unusual circumstances.
  • in some cases, report the death to the Procurator Fiscal.

If someone dies in hospital

The hospital will:

  • either issue a medical certificate of cause of death needed by the registrar, provided the cause of death is quite clear. The hospital staff may ask you to consider authorising a postmortem examination if that would provide valuable information about the person’s final illness or treatment which could help other people.
  • in some cases, report the death to the Procurator Fiscal.
  • should you wish more information about hospital post-mortem examination, leaflets are available from the hospital.

Procurator fiscal

The Procurator Fiscal has a duty to investigate all sudden, suspicious, accidental, unexpected and unexplained deaths and any death occurring in circumstances that give rise to serious public concern.

Where a death is reported, the Procurator Fiscal will investigate the circumstances of the death, attempt to find out the cause of the death and consider whether criminal proceedings or a Fatal Accident Inquiry is appropriate. In the majority of cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal, early enquiries establish that the death was due to natural causes.

Post-Mortem

In some cases the Procurator Fiscal will instruct a post-mortem examination, for example,where no doctor is able to issue a death certificate.

The examination will be carried out as soon as possible, normally within a day or two of the death. There may be legal reasons why a post-mortem is unavoidable, but where possible the Procurator Fiscal will respect the wishes of the next of kin.

In all cases you should contact us at the earliest opportunity. We will liaise closely with the authorities on your behalf and update you regularly.

Your choices
Arrange a funeral
Funeral cost

Family support

“Awdri and Rebecca made us feel at ease going through a really tough time. One thing I do know is that my dad would delighted with the way you managed the service and the fantastic friendly support for the family. Thank you to all at A & A Doyle.”
Mr K, Galashiels

Your choices

Burial

As well as the local traditional cemeteries there is woodland burial ground available at Shawfield Cemetery in Selkirk. These cemeteries are owned and maintained by Scottish Borders Council.

 

Burials & cemeteries scottish borders

Cremation

We are very fortunate to have our own crematorium here in the Scottish Borders, situated on the outskirts of Melrose at the foot of the Eildons.

Other crematoria available are Mortonhall, Seafield and Warriston which are all based in Edinburgh.

Borders crematorium
Music for ceremony

Natural Burial

A natural woodland burial site, Hundy Mundy, situated on the edge of Mellerstain Estate which is owned by Leedam Natural Heritage.

Natural burial is the most ecological funeral option, a thoughtful legacy for future generations.
You can have a sense of peace knowing you’ll be in the landscape you love.

Borders natural burial ground

Coffins

Traditionally families choose wood or wood-effect coffins. We offer a full range to suit your taste and budget. There are a variety of additional choices available to you.

These include willow, cardboard, colourful and woollen to name but a few. If you have a particular colour or design in mind or if you would like to see photographs of some of the alternative options available, please ask. Scatter tubes and ashes caskets are also available in a range of designs.

Transport

We pride ourselves on providing high quality vehicles driven by experienced and well presented staff. Traditionally the deceased is conveyed in a motor-hearse, but there are other options available. These include horse-drawn hearse or motorcycle hearse or you may have another mode of transport in mind…​

Floral Tribute

We have a wide variety of floral tributes available to suit most tastes. They are all crafted by a local florist. This range includes traditional coffin sprays, wreaths, cellophane wrapped bouquets or even designs in the shape of a football or teddy bear. Other designs are available on request.

Stationery

Personalised orders of service for the funeral. We can incorporate photographs, hobbies, special readings or poetry into a design of your choice.

Attendance, memorial cards, thank-you cards or other mementos can also be printed for giving to family and friends as a keepsake.

Funeral Catering

Many people like to hold a reception or ‘funeral tea’ after the service. This offers the opportunity to meet with family and friends in a more relaxed atmosphere and celebrate the life of a loved one. It also allows those who have travelled a distance the opportunity to meet up and share in memories of the past. We are fortunate to have excellent local venues which we can suggest to you.

Funeral cost

How much will it cost?

We are proud to be members of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the Society of Allied and Independent Funeral directors (SAIF). As members of the NAFD and SAIF we have a duty to advise you of all costs associated with the funeral arrangements.  We will provide you with a full written estimate of cost which will be agreed and signed so you are fully aware of the commitments you have entered into whilst arranging the funeral. Costs are divided into separate sections, professional fees and disbursements.

Professional Fees

Professional fees are the charges under the control of the funeral director. These may include

  • Staff fees
  • Making funeral arrangements and liaison with third parties
  • Completion and transmission of necessary documentation
  • Visits to your home if required
  • Conveyance of the deceased to our premises
  • Full preparation and care of the deceased
  • Provision of a suitable coffin for burial or cremation
  • Provision of a hearse
  • Personal supervision of the funeral
Disbursements & additional expenses

Disbursements are the charges paid out by us on your behalf while arranging the funeral.
Examples of these are:

  • Cemetery fees
  • Crematorium fees
  • Doctors fees
  • Minister/celebrant fees
  • Church/musician fees
  • Newspaper notices
  • Flowers
  • Order of service sheets
  • Gratuities
  • Any other additional extras you may require.

We hope you will appreciate that disbursements can differ from our estimate as they are not
under our direct control. We will make every effort to give as accurate an estimate as possible.

Help with funeral costs

In some cases the government provides assistance with the cost of a simple funeral. To
qualify you must be receiving one of these benefits:

  • Income support,
  • Council tax benefit,
  • Disability working allowance,
  • Family credit,
  • Housing benefit,
  • Second adult rebate.

If you would like to talk to someone about help with funeral expenses we suggest you
contact the Scottish Government or an advice centre such as Citizens
Advice Bureau (CAB). They will advise you on the amount of financial help you can expect based on your own circumstances.

If you are worried about how you can meet the costs of the funeral service, please tell us.
We will always do everything we can to help you to organise a dignified and respectful funeral service for your loved one.

Our funeral costs
Link to cab
SG funeral support payment