Learn Spanish Powerpoint Presentation

If the person dies in a hospital you will have to get a death certificate or el acta de defunción from the admissions department of the hospital. Next, the person claiming the body will have to show the death certificate at the hospital’s morgue and identify the body. If the body is to be buried or cremated in Costa Rica a funeral home will have to be notified to pick up the remains.

If someone passes away at home the process is different. The deceased person’s doctor will need to be contacted in order to issue a death certificate and contact a funeral home. When my wife passed away nine years ago I had to follow this procedure

If the person died in a away that required the body being taken to the morgue (la Medicatura Forense), located in the town of San Joaquín de Flores de Heredia, a family member or another person must identify the body together with the deceased’s passport or residency cédula. An autopsy must take place and the usual time to hand over the body to the family is between seven hours up to a maximum of two days.

If the body is to be buried in Costa Rica and funeral is to be held, the following also has to be done.

a) A funeral home and cemetery have to be chosen along with a plot. b) A place to hold the service must be selected c) If there is a will involved the person’s lawyer must be contacted d) All family and friends must be notified e) If the person belongs to a particular religion the service should be held in a church of the same faith. f) Remember to publish a funeral notice in the local newspaper g) Don’t forget details like flowers and music for the service

If the body or ashes are to be repatriated to the person’s country of origin, you need the following documents. Your funeral home can assist you with all of this.

A death certificate issued by a Costa Rican doctor showing the cause of death. A statement by a person who is authorized to prepare the body, stating the manner and method in which the preparation took place. This will have to be certified by a competent authority. An document attesting to the fact that the casket or urn contains just the remains of the deceased. A transit permit that has the name and age of the deceased issued by the competent authority, in case the remains in question were exhumed occurred. The transfer of the body must be accompanied by a copy of the documents listed in a), b), c) and d) and the coffin will have to be identified by a non-removible tag stating name, age, sex and destination of the remains. The body must be embalmed correctly and put in a sealed waterproof coffin.