BajaNomad - What To Do If Your Loved One Dies in Mexico?

What To Do If Your Loved One Dies in Mexico?

GilandVal - 11-24-2012 at 06:03 PM

A lot of us traveling in Mexico are not "youngsters". Just wondering what the protocol is if something like this happens?

EnsenadaDr - 11-24-2012 at 06:33 PM

Make sure you have a doctor that will sign your death certificate so you can be shipped to the US or cremated or buried in Mexico as expeditiously as possible.

DENNIS - 11-24-2012 at 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
Make sure you have a doctor that will sign your death certificate so you can be shipped to the US or cremated or buried in Mexico as expeditiously as possible.

How about some enhanced clarification on your point.

J.P. - 11-24-2012 at 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GilandVal
A lot of us traveling in Mexico are not "youngsters". Just wondering what the protocol is if something like this happens?

My wife died about 6 years ago in a private hospital in Ensenada of a termnal illness. we had her Cremated. It was a pretty straitforward and easy. I have heard horror stories about people dying without a doctor in attendence and the complications it can cause.

tounge in cheek

akshadow - 11-24-2012 at 09:47 PM

Depends on how close to the border you are. Put them in the seat and drive to border, when sent to secondary you are in the US

Marc - 11-25-2012 at 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by akshadow
Depends on how close to the border you are. Put them in the seat and drive to border, when sent to secondary you are in the US

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXhfv4UYv2I

shari - 11-25-2012 at 10:19 AM

this is a very good question. A very good friend of ours died here a month ago and we were responsible for figuring out what to do. He died in the ambulance so in his case, or if you pass away outside of a hospital, the coroner signs the death certificate...he is a doctor anyway.

The first thing to do was to call the ministerio publico, or the state police to notify them of a death...then call the funeral home to transport the body to the morgue of your choice. If you are in a village, this may take several hours for them to arrive so plan for that.

NEVER MOVE THE BODY FROM WHERE THE PERSON DIED OR THERE WILL BE LOTS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE POLICE.

There is alot of red tape to transport the body stateside and you have to get permits from a few government agencies which takes time, so you have to get the body "preared" anyway whether they get transported or buried in mexico. I believe there is only a crematorium in La Paz??

Make sure you have all your paperwork, birth certificate and passport handy and make lots of copies. It helps if this is in an easily found place in case a spouse isnt onsite. The police did a report,

We and the family chose to have Stan buried in the local pantheon. The church helped out with candles and a service and we had a traditional overnight vigil and burial. The mayor gave the OK to the burial here.

It was a beautiful funeral and Stan has been laid to rest overlooking the sea in a place he loved and was loved.

bajaguy - 11-25-2012 at 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
this is a very good question. A very good friend of ours died here a month ago and we were responsible for figuring out what to do. He died in the ambulance so in his case, or if you pass away outside of a hospital, the coroner signs the death certificate...he is a doctor anyway.

The first thing to do was to call the ministerio publico, or the state police to notify them of a death...then call the funeral home to transport the body to the morgue of your choice. If you are in a village, this may take several hours for them to arrive so plan for that.

NEVER MOVE THE BODY FROM WHERE THE PERSON DIED OR THERE WILL BE LOTS OF PROBLEMS WITH THE POLICE.

There is alot of red tape to transport the body stateside and you have to get permits from a few government agencies which takes time, so you have to get the body "preared" anyway whether they get transported or buried in mexico. I believe there is only a crematorium in La Paz??

Make sure you have all your paperwork, birth certificate and passport handy and make lots of copies. It helps if this is in an easily found place in case a spouse isnt onsite. The police did a report,

We and the family chose to have Stan buried in the local pantheon. The church helped out with candles and a service and we had a traditional overnight vigil and burial. The mayor gave the OK to the burial here.

It was a beautiful funeral and Stan has been laid to rest overlooking the sea in a place he loved and was loved.

Have copies of all important documents.......birth certificate, marriage certificate, military documents. immediately call the US Consulate. If you have a Mexican family doctor on record and have been seen by him/her within the last 6 months, and the death occurs at home, the doctor can sign the death certificate and will call the mortuary.

About a ton of red tape if the police or officials are called if it is a "simple" at home death and you have a family doctor.

Most important is the immediate call to the US Consulate. They will handle a lot of the paperwork and will also coordinate with Social Security, the VA and Mexican authorities. they will also obtain death certificates for you

DENNIS - 11-25-2012 at 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy

If you have a Mexican family doctor on record and have been seen by him/her within the last 6 months, and the death occurs at home, the doctor can sign the death certificate

A question that has arisen in the past is, "Will he?" He certainly doesn't have to and some may prefer to not get involved.

GilandVal - 11-25-2012 at 12:55 PM

Thank you all for your very informative replies, I truly appreciate it.

Pescador - 11-25-2012 at 01:16 PM

There is a creamatory in La Paz and Ensenada ( I think). The other problem that arises here is that they do not traditionally enbalm the body so you need to decide on a course of action fairly quickly. In the small villages and towns it is very difficult to get someone to La Paz and almost impossible to cross the state line from Baja Sur to Baja.
In our village, it is very easy to meet with the mayor (Delegado) and get a plot ok'd in the village cemetary. All burial expenses, cement blocks, etc., are the responsibility of family or friends.

EnsenadaDr - 11-25-2012 at 06:08 PM

Like I said, the key to fast action and cremation is to have a doctor, preferably private, that you ask BEFORE death if he or she will sign your death certificate. This would mean naturally that you will have a physical and health history taken, and the doctor can sign off at death that you had pre-existing conditions (everyone over 50 has arteriosclerosis, and your body will be on its merry little way to the funeral home to be cremated or embalmed. The law in Mexico is that if you don't get embalmed, you have to be kept at low temps in the frig at the morgue, and if you don't have a power of attorney officially translated in Spanish that designates someone to handle your affairs do it now.

shari - 11-25-2012 at 06:18 PM

there is a wonderful new funeraria in Vizcaino and the doctor from the health clinic there runs it. He can embalm a body to last a week...it's pretty impressive...to give time for family members to travel down and make arrangements...but it is more expensive than just the preparation to bury one the following day. We didnt require a power of attorney to plan STan's funeral.

DENNIS - 11-25-2012 at 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
there is a wonderful new funeraria in Vizcaino and the doctor from the health clinic there runs it. He can embalm a body to last a week...it's pretty impressive...to give time for family members to travel down and make arrangements...but it is more expensive than just the preparation to bury one the following day. We didnt require a power of attorney to plan STan's funeral.

I thought the PoA was meant to be in place in lieu of a family member who can make decisions in these matters.

Ateo - 11-25-2012 at 06:28 PM

Were all gonna die December 21st so who cares?????

Zapotec - 11-26-2012 at 09:59 AM

Does any one know about wills in Mexico?

woody with a view - 11-26-2012 at 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zapotec
Does any one know about wills in Mexico?

i know a couple of Guillermo's, if that's what you mean? :lol:

bajaguy - 11-26-2012 at 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zapotec
Does any one know about wills in Mexico?

Yup.....see a Notario or an Attorney. They usually offer discounts in October of every year. A simple Mexican will is a good thing to have if you live or travel in Baja/Mexico

Bruce R Leech - 11-26-2012 at 10:31 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=LLchaCJg5U-QMaE0x0bpDcgA&...

check this Video :lol:

Marc - 11-28-2012 at 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bruce R Leech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=LLchaCJg5U-QMaE0x0bpDcgA&...

check this Video :lol:

Now I've seen everything

mcfez - 11-28-2012 at 07:42 AM

".........I'm telling Val about your twisted plans" :-)

Quote:

Originally posted by akshadow
Depends on how close to the border you are. Put them in the seat and drive to border, when sent to secondary you are in the US

lizard lips - 11-28-2012 at 10:02 AM

Because I investigte life insurance claims all over the world and most of these are Americans who are on vacation or have moved to that country there are documents that are needed for you to present to the insurance company in order to satisfy the claim. As said, go to the nearest American Embassy or consulate and bring the certified death certificate with you so they can process a "Death of an American Citizen Abroad" document which is issued by the state department. It takes a few weeks to process and you will receive 10 of these certified documents in the mail. If cremation is done get a a copy of the State of Baja California permission for cremation document. If death occurs in Mexico there will be an initial death certificate issued by the Secretaria de Salud with the certifying doctors signature on this document. Get a copy of this which is usually handwritten. This document is sent to the civil registry so the death can be registered. You DO NOT have to take this to the civil registry. It's automatic.

Also mentioned above, do not move the body..... You can call the local police and they will in turn call the ministerio publico so that they can do their investigation and check for cause of death and determine if an investigation is necessary.

If the death is of natural causes there still may be an autopsy. On many occasions with the deaths I have worked on no autopsy's were completed but it's up to the ministerio or the doctor. If it is a murder there will be an autopsy and the body will not be released to the family until the ministerio determines that it's no longer needed.

Get copies of all of these documents and try and get originals to keep for your records. If you do have a life policy include all of these as well as the original death certificate with your claim. If the death was a murder or accident get the investigation report from the ministerio and include these documents as well. You will NOT have to pay the ministerio for any of these reports. The only document you will have to pay for is the death certificate so I suggest get several. You may need them later.

Here in Ensenada Funeraria Moreno have a great program where if a death occurs and you bought a "plan" everything is taken care of in advance. I am sure if a loved one dies you will not want to be shopping.....

Don't be surprised if the insurance company decides to do their own investigation. Because the death was in a foreign country and the amount of the policy is very high I may come knocking on your door so make sure you get all of the papers I mentioned.

rdrrm8e - 11-28-2012 at 11:19 AM

Quote:

This! Shari ran this so smoothly it went without a hitch.

An idea takes root

greengoes - 7-27-2017 at 10:43 PM

Quote: Originally posted by EnsenadaDr

Make sure you have a doctor that will sign your death certificate so you can be shipped to the US or cremated or buried in Mexico as expeditiously as possible.

Sound advice. :light:

DavidT - 7-28-2017 at 05:06 AM

Mr. Dimmick has a solution

The American retirement communities in Baja fairly burst with dingbats who march to different drummers.

Mr. Dimmick is one. He's a guy who always seems to be in some kind of difficulty.

Dimmick -- "The first name's Theophilus, but (self-conscious chuckle) you can call me Ted" -- is a tall, skinny, disaster-prone nebbish who always has a story about his latest Baja "troubles," usually told in a monotone with sad resigned eyes and along reflective pauses. He has taken to plastering his sparse strands of dyed-black hair down on his dome with some kind of goo, though I remember his when his follicles were more bountiful. This, combines with his excessive Adam's apple, his paucity of flesh and a certain rolling gait, gives him the appearance of a semi-bald Ichabod Crane.

The way Dimmick explained one of his mishaps to me was this: His wife had invited her mother, a lady of some 80 summers, to visit the Dimmicks' Baja home for a week. After a rough trip down from Los Angeles, the old woman was feeling puny for the first few days, and even worse after that.

In fact, she had a massive heart attack and died...

-Fred Hoctor

BajaGlenn - 7-28-2017 at 07:03 AM

I know someone that rolled his Dad in a carpet and headed to the border--didn't make it :?:

You on here Bill :biggrin:

SFandH - 7-28-2017 at 08:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy

Most important is the immediate call to the US Consulate. They will handle a lot of the paperwork and will also coordinate with Social Security, the VA and Mexican authorities. they will also obtain death certificates for you

Agreed.

I've been told that to collect on any US financial account for which you are the beneficiary you will need a US death certificate which a US Consulate can issue given a Mexican death certificate.

Informative thread folks, thanks for reviving it.

[Edited on 7-28-2017 by SFandH]

LaTijereta - 7-28-2017 at 09:20 AM

Found this a few years back.. Seems to cover most of the bases..

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yrbuvtfiu42711a/DEATHINBAJA%20fina...

msteve1014 - 7-28-2017 at 11:40 AM

That is not true. The only place I had to deal with that did not take the Mexican certificate (in Spanish) was to change the title on our house.

I've been told that to collect on any US financial account for which you are the beneficiary you will need a US death certificate which a US Consulate can issue given a Mexican death certificate.

Informative thread folks, thanks for reviving it.

[Edited on 7-28-2017 by SFandH][/rquote]