Page Contents

The Law

How can I find out if they are still alive?

Identifying the body of a TransPerson's Body, and other End of Life Concerns.

Issues when a Trans Person’s former family member dies.

         Problems with wills

When a Trans Person dies.

         Registering the death of a trans person

         Errors in registering a trans person's death

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The Law and Confidentiality

The law forbids the sharing of information about trans people who have been legally recognised in their new gender without their express consent. This may create difficulty in obtaining details of a trans person, or keeping the details secure, if they or a family member has died. In UK law, a person's identity is held in a variety of documents; their driving licence, passport, work & tax records. It is very difficult for someone to dissapear  completely.

How can I find out if they are still alive?

If you are concerned as to whether a trans person you know is alive & well, and cannot get the information any other way, contact the Salvation Army Look for Them Missing Persons unit for help.

A bereavement is a traumatic process for anyone, but as a trans person it may bring with it specific issues. Some trans people become estranged from family members and it may be very difficult for them to be in contact with them again – particularly if they don’t accept them in their acquired gender. The member of your family who died may have never known you in your preferred gender. This may cause added distress and feelings of regret or anger.

For some trans people, the event of a death could be an opportunity to regain contact with family members. Sometimes under exceptional circumstances, people gain a sense of perspective of what is important in life and may realise the importance of family. People respond to bereavement in different and sometimes unpredictable ways.

There are different stages for bereavement and they do not happen in the same order for everyone.

If it falls to a trans person to register the death of a relative, if they do not have a gender recognition certificate they may be concerned as to how to identify themself to the registrar. As long as they are living permanently in their preferred gender role, a trans person may declare their relationship appropriately. For example a trans man can say he is reporting his father's death in his role as his father's son. The requirement not to commit perjury relates only to

1.  the provision of true identification (for tracing the information if needs be) -  if you are now living as a man , it would be far more difficult to trace you if you declared yourself as a daughter. and
2. the provision of true details of the deceased and their death.

Problems with wills

A trans person may have concerns if they are named as a beneficiary in a will in their former name or  gender. For example, a father might state in his will, “I leave my two cars to my son” or to “my son, Tommy”, but the son has since become a woman. Trans people are advised to keep their gender recognition certificate, or their original statutory declaration or deed poll documents for their change of name. With them there should not be a problem as they will include the change from your former name to your new one.

Without them, a trans person may have to find other records, such as pay slips, bank statements of their former life. They may also have to show that the new person is the person named in the will. One method of achieving this, is to contact their tax office for a letter confirming the date when their tax records were transferred to their new name and gender. 

When a Trans Person dies.

If you were caring for a trans family member who has died, you may feel a range of emotions depending on the circumstances of the death. You may:

·             have been the only family member who knew that they were trans

·             have felt unable to deal with their identity 

·             have only known them in their new gender for a short period of time  

·             have only just discovered upon their death that they were trans

·             feel that when they changed their gender you went through a type of bereavement and now you have to go through another one

·             feel anger towards them for what they have put you through 

·             feel guilt or regret that you could have done more for them

If you are having difficulty coming to terms with these issues, it might be a good idea to contact one of the trans support organisations. It also might help to talk to some of the trans friends of the deceased or those who were part of the network of people that they knew.

Registering the death of a trans person is done using the standard process.

However, problems may arise if you are not sure how to inform the registrar of the gender of a deceased trans person. Sometimes relatives register the death of the trans person in their birth gender, no matter how long a person has permanently lived in their preferred gender. If the trans person had a gender recognition certificate, and was recognised in their preferred gender for all legal purposes, then, in principle, the  preferred gender of the trans person  must be stated when registering their death.

Errors in registering a trans person's death

If an error is made in registering a death, the law allows details to be changed or added. Contact the office where the death was registered for corrections to be arranged, although the paperwork will need to be sent for authorisation to the Corrections and Re-registration Section at the General Register Office.

Wherever possible, making the application for correction should be by the person who gave the information for the registration. They will need to provide documentary evidence to prove an error was made at the time of the registration. There is no charge for authorising a correction.