Knowing what to do if an expat passes away in Spain is an essential yet underutilised knowledge area that can reduce emotional turbulence, help the process run smoother, and leave loved ones free to make funeral arrangements.
Offering valuable guidance in case the worst should happen, the following advice from experts at Fluent Finance Abroad can make it easier to understand and process if the worst should happen.
Steps you need to take when a US, Irish or British national dies in Spain
Familiarising yourself with the Spanish legal system and what happens if you, or a cherished family member, passes away will help you know where to start when dealing with death abroad. The following steps should be applicable to most instances and should be followed carefully.
1. Notify the authorities
If you discover that your loved one has passed away in Spain, you should get in touch with emergency services by dialling 112 or 092, if someone hasn’t already.
Then, you’ll need to contact a doctor, who will confirm the cause of death and issue a Certificado Médico de Defunción, also known as a doctor’s medical death certificate. Your chosen funeral company will then be contacted, and they’ll come to transport the body to their facility.
If your loved one passes away in the hospital, the doctors and nurses will inform the authorities and contact your chosen funeral home or a company from their roster.
However, if someone dies in Spain and the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, violent or sudden, a post-mortem examination (autopsy) will also need to be carried out to determine the exact cause of death.
2. Register the death
The death of your friend or family member must legally be registered at the local Spanish civil registry, where the civil registry death certificate (also known as a local death certificate) is issued. This official legal record of death in Spain is essential for arranging the funeral, accessing Spanish bank accounts, initiating probate, and applying for the Last Will Certificate.
Spanish law requires that deaths be registered at the local civil registry within 24-hours of the death occurring.
The civil registry may need the following information:
- Birth certificate
- Home address
- Religion
- Official ID, such as their passport
- Spouse’s details and marriage certificate (if applicable)
- Divorce papers (if applicable)
Normally, funeral homes tend to handle the death registration of a loved one, especially in locations with huge expat populations, like Malaga and the wider Costa del Sol. But, if you wish to register the death yourself, you must take your loved one’s doctor’s medical death certificate to the civil registry, which can usually be found at the local town hall.
Typically, the registration includes the date, time and location in which the death occurred.
3. Burial, cremation or repatriation of your loved one
After obtaining the necessary death certificate, you’ll need to make arrangements with the local funeral directors.
If the deceased has an expat funeral plan in place, this should specify funeral arrangements and whether they wish to be buried, cremated, or repatriated to their home country. They may have also outlined a specific funeral parlour to use.
Local burial
If your loved one requested to be buried, then you must obtain a burial licence (your chosen funeral directors will take care of this for you). It’s customary for bodies to be buried within 24-48 hours after death, but this period differs and can be extended to allow friends and family of the expat more time to make travel arrangements.
Funerals in Spain take place much sooner after death than they do in the UK and other countries, and the process is much quicker. Some general guidelines include:
- Embalmed bodies must be buried within four days.
- Temporarily preserved bodies must be buried within three days.
- Bodies which have not been embalmed must be buried within 48 hours, but not before the 24-hour mark.
- Immediate burial is necessary in the case of a contagious disease.
Local cremation
Written confirmation, signed in advance by the deceased before they pass away, is to be issued by the next of kin to the local authorities before the cremation goes ahead. Or, it needs to be authorised by a member of the deceased’s family if no written confirmation was provided.
Repatriation
If the deceased, or their next of kin, requests repatriation of the body to their home country, you must let the doctor know while their death certificate is being completed.
Transporting a body from Spain generally costs between £2,300 and £6,000 – although this can vary from case to case.
If you have travel insurance, the repatriation process may be covered in your policy, in which case, your insurance company can make all the necessary arrangements and provide guidance throughout the process.
Some important things to bear in mind about repatriation:
- Embalming is a legal requirement before international transportation.
- Your loved one’s passport and death certificate must stay with them until you arrive back in your destination country and you’re ready to start making alternative arrangements.
- An airtight, hermetically sealed coffin is required for flights (the funeral director will handle this).
Speaking to the expat’s home country’s consulate in Spain
We highly recommend that families who don’t know who to call or where to start with the legalities of dealing with a beloved one’s death abroad should contact their consulate.
The US, Irish or British consulates in Spain provide their home country’s citizens with services including emergency support for the family, liaising with local authorities, and managing administrative procedures.
How expats can make the process easier for their loved ones
Make a Spanish will
Making a Spanish will is one of the simplest yet most important things any expat with assets in Spain can do. This document ensures you decide who inherits and can help make the process of distributing your estate quicker and less complex, and reduce the legal fees your family members need to pay.
It also makes sure that Spanish inheritance law is accounted for and can help minimise tax burdens on your loved ones.
Take out an expat funeral plan in Spain
By taking out a Spanish funeral plan, you can ease the burden of finances and decision-making from your family, who will already be going through a difficult moment. Professionals will handle the practical arrangements outlined in your plan, from collecting the body, registering the death, managing funeral arrangements and sorting the burial, repatriation or cremation.
Here at Fluent Finance Abroad, we offer several different comprehensive expat funeral plans in Spain for the protection of you and your loved ones, and to give you the send-off you deserve.
Or, you could opt for funeral insurance, where you pay a fixed monthly amount, and then when you pass away, your family receive a fixed cash amount to help pay for your funeral service.
Inform your next of kin about any loans or mortgages
If you’ve taken out a loan or a Spanish lifetime mortgage that enabled you to release equity from your property later in life, ensure your family is aware so they can decide ahead of time whether to sell the property and settle the debt, or repay the mortgage and keep the property.
Leaving a power of attorney to someone in Spain
This will help relatives back in your home country to deal with the Spanish bureaucracy – this should be someone trustworthy, like a family lawyer, accountant or close family friend.
Do life insurance policies cover funeral costs?
Life insurance is a practical financial safety net for expats in Spain, and one of the main ways to assist heirs in covering inheritance tax and legal fees. But it’s important to note that life insurance policies don’t typically tend to include funeral costs or full repatriation expenses, which can often surprise expat families.
We recommend that any expat in Spain looking to make arrangements should speak to their insurance provider for more information on what their policy covers, just in case the worst should happen.
Need more expert guidance?
To find out more about the Spanish rules surrounding what happens when an expat dies in Spain, or to discuss Spanish expat funeral plans, get in touch with our friendly team here at Fluent Finance Abroad. We’re always here to provide financial advice and will do everything we can to help alleviate any stresses or concerns during such a difficult time.
