---
title: "Advise whether the family can require an inquest"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/prepare-the-family-s-request-for-an-inquest-or-for-review-of-a-decision/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A61-V20261018-3-US"
practice_area: "Coronial Inquests"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Advise whether the family can require an inquest

> Set out the state named in the instructions and quote the inquest sentence from the statute the lawyer has opened. Do not write the advice.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/prepare-the-family-s-request-for-an-inquest-or-for-review-of-a-decision/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Coronial Inquests](https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Set out the state named in the instructions and quote the inquest sentence from the statute the lawyer has opened. Do not write the advice. |
| What the lawyer must review | CDC states that death investigation is state law and that there is no single national system. Minnesota Statutes section 390.11, subdivision 5, says an inquest may be held at the request of the medical examiner and the county attorney, or the coroner and the county attorney. An inquest is optional. The coroner or medical examiner may investigate and certify the death without one. The family is not given a right to require an inquest by that subdivision. Inquest records are public, but the record and report may not be used in evidence in a civil action arising out of the death. You write any letter to the family or the county attorney. Opinion 512. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Prepare the family's request for an inquest or for review of a decision not to hold one](https://ailawframework.com/practice/coronial-inquests/prepare-the-family-s-request-for-an-inquest-or-for-review-of-a-decision.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Set out the state named in the instructions and quote the inquest sentence from the statute the lawyer has opened. Do not write the advice.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Do not describe a family application for an inquest as a national procedure.
- Minnesota bars use of the inquest record in a later civil action arising out of the death. Another state may not.

## Sources

- [Minnesota Statutes section 390.11, subdivision 5 (inquests)](https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/390.11) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [CDC Public Health Law Program: coroner and medical examiner laws](https://www.cdc.gov/phlp/php/coroner/index.html) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Request for an inquest into a death (Coroners Court of Victoria Form 26)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/form-vic-coroner-26-request-inquest.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to Coroners Court Form 26, the request for an inquest into a death. An inquest is a public hearing. It is not a trial, and the coroner does not find guilt or apportion blame. |
| [Asking for an inquest after a coroner has dispensed with one (NSW)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/path-to-an-inquest-nsw.md) | Checklist | Yellow | The NSW steps when a family or another interested person wants an inquest that a coroner has dispensed with: reasons, a direction from the State Coroner, and an application to the Supreme Court. |
| [Letter asking a NSW coroner for reasons for dispensing with an inquest](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/letter-requesting-reasons-dispensing-inquest.md) | Letter | Yellow | A letter asking the coroner for written reasons for dispensing with an inquest, and stating the writer's interest in the death. |
| [Requesting a Queensland inquest: pathway, dates and pre-inquest conference](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/qld-inquest-request-pathway.md) | Checklist | Yellow | Pathway for asking a Queensland coroner to hold an inquest, including the six-month decision period, the 14-day next step, and what a pre-inquest conference decides. |
| [Family conference before an inquest: agenda](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/family-conference-before-inquest.md) | Checklist | Yellow | An agenda for a conference with a family before a NSW inquest: leave to appear, the issues list, what the family will and will not hear, and who speaks to the coroner. |
| [Request for consideration of concerns (Coroners Court of Victoria)](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/coronial-inquests/form-vic-coroner-request-consideration-concerns.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the Coroners Court's request for consideration of concerns. The form is for families to submit concerns that fit within the coronial scope. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*