Mortuary Facilitator
Dealing with a Dead Body?
Call Jose First!
With one call to Jose.....
- He will come to the place of death
-
Work with the Loja mortuary
Translate everything - Handle all the details & paperwork
- After Cremation performed
- Return the ashes to Vilca
- If you plan ahead and have all the necessary documents available, your loved ones won't even have to leave Vilca.
Only $780! (subject to change)
(Conditions apply)
$780 – Cremation, paperwork and return of ashes to Vilcabamba Conditions:
($730 for the cremation and $50 for Facilitator) (prices subject to change)
These must be present when the Facilitator arrives:
- Original Cedula or Passport (You will need to give the funeral home an original document)
- $730 Cash (If the deceased has had IESS for at least one year and paid consistently for the last 6 months, the funeral home can bill IESS directly with no money required, other than the $50 for the Mortuary Facilitator.)
- Cremation Authorization Document copy
- Cremation Authorization person present to sign documents
- Name and contact information of the Attending Physician who is available to create the Informe estadístico de Defunción (statistical death report created on line by the attending physician). Dr. Saber, our Hospice Physician can do this.
- Ask Divino for the free Statement that they did the cremation, for the Embassy. Invoice is not sufficient.
Additional fees: (All prices subject to change)
$20 – Mortuary to register the Death Certificate with the Civil Registry (HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS! It can take numerous trips to Loja if you don’t know what you are doing.)
$100-$300 – Mortuary to come to the place of death, initiate paperwork, prepare the body for Viewing and return to pick up the body. Will depend on cause and place of death.
$150 – If Cremation Authorization document or person is NOT present – Jose Abad can take responsibility and obtain the necessary Document from a Notary and sign the Authorization.
$150 – If no Attending Physician is available to create the Informe estadístico de Defunción.
50% – If full Cremation fee is not available initially, 50% is acceptable, with full payment required to receive ashes. Requires a trip to Loja.
$120 – Ambulance from Loja to move a patient within Vilcabamba
20% of total + Trip to Loja (Approximately) – If credit card is used.
$200-$500 – Send ashes to the United States.
$8,000-$10,000 – Send body to United States.
Regular taxi fares and time applies for additional trips related to the death.
Jose will send a picture of the Cedula or Passport to the mortuary so they can bring the required, prepared document for signature.
Note: These prices are using Divino Descanso, Edwin Valle, Lauro Guerrero s/n y Juan Jose Samaniego esq. 07 606 0380, 098 168 8266, 098 950 4934. Email: edxander1781@hotmail.com
Call Jose First!
Detailed Check List
Specifically for an expected death of a Foreigner living in Vilcabamba,
utilizing Jose Abad and Divino Descanso Mortuary
DISCLAIMER: Laws, fees and procedures change frequently. If the death is unexpected or violent the police will need to be called. Jose can help with this. I have done my best to represent the information as accurately as possible as of August, 2022. Mortuaries apparently have different requirements, procedures and rules – These are specific to Divino Descanso.
If possible, it is a good idea to notify Jose in advance of the actual death
- Call Jose Abad +593 99 375 5700 (Phone or Whatsapp).
- Give him the person’s name, location and time you wish pickup.
- Send Jose a picture of the front and back of the deceased’s Cedula or Passport.
- Send Jose a picture of the front and back of the Cremation Authorization person’s Cedula or Passport.
- Jose will notify Divino and arrange for pickup.
Locate deceased's ORIGINAL cedula and/or passport
- Take clear photos of the front and back.
- Send to Jose.
- Divino will probably take the originals and return with the cremains.
Someone will have to sign to authorize the cremation. This person(s) will have to be available at the time of pickup or delivery of cremains to sign documents.
- Spouse can do it without any documents, if the deceased is named on the spouse’s cedula. If not, marriage license might be required.
- If no spouse –
1. Legal document required naming a person to authorize or
2. Two people will have to sign who can swear the person stated they wished to be cremated. - Take clear photos of the Authorized Person(s)’ cedula(s) or passport(s) and send to Jose.
Statistical death report created on line by the attending physician, used to create the Death Certificate.
Mortuary will probably not pick up the body until this is created.
- Dr. Saber, our Hospice Physician, or Dra. Sonia Romero can do this for $30-40, if they are aware of the deceased’s medical condition.
- Hospital Physician will do it, if in hospital.
- If no Primary Physician, Divino has someone that can help for about $150.
- Notify Primary Physician of death immediately.
- Send copies of the deceased’s cedula or passport to the physician.
- Divino will obtain the Informe on line.
- Ask for a copy from whomever creates it. The Embassy may want a copy.
You legally have 24 hours to report the death.
- It is best to call Jose immediately, so he can contact Divino and get things going and possibly avoid law enforcement getting involved and a possible autopsy (unless it is an unexpected or violent death, in which case you will need to call the police too).
- You can ask for a pickup for any time within 24 hours.
- The deceased can be dressed in anything you wish.
- Be sure to tell Divino if the deceased has a pacemaker or any other metal in their body.
- In order to save time, energy and money, it is best to have everything listed here done or available when the pick up occurs.
Someone will have to sign to take financial responsibility for the final hospital bill.
- The hospital bill will have to be paid before the body is released to the Mortuary.
- The patient, if they are able, or a Medical Power of Attorney or friend will be asked to sign on admission, usually, to take responsibility for final payment of the hospital bill.
- Be careful what you sign. Demand that someone read it to you in English.
- If the patient dies, obviously, their credit card cannot be used after their death unless the MPOA is also the Executor of the deceased’s estate.
It is simplest and cheapest to have all the cash available at pickup.
- Option: At least half of the fee will be expected on pickup or before cremation will take place and balance due when cremains delivered.
- If cash is not available, see above for credit card fee.
- If full payment is not available on pickup, all of these options could require a trip(s) to Loja to Divino’s office.
- If the deceased has IESS, it is possible, at this time, for Divino to bill IESS directly with no payment at pick up (Except $50 for Jose and $20 for Divino to register the Death Certificate), as long they have been registered for at least one year and are current in their payments. This, however, could change due to the state of Ecuador’s IESS finances.)
Cremains will be returned to Vilcabamba in a few days.
- Divino will return the cremains to the Authorized Cremation person in Vilcabamba within a day or so, which will be arranged by Jose and he will be there to direct them to the responsible person, to assist and translate.
- Depending on whether everything was available at the time of pickup, paperwork will be signed and any final payment made.
- Cremains will not be returned until full payment is received.
- Cremains are not toxic in any way and can be disposed of as you wish.
The Death Certificate must be registered with the Civil Registry in Loja.
If you do not speak Spanish, especially if you are grieving, this can be a difficult task.
- Hopefully you requested and paid Divino $20 to register the Death Certificate.
- If not, your responsible person will need to take all the paperwork Divino gives them and go do it themselves, which can be a challenge if they do not speak Spanish.
- Well worth the money!
- You can pay Jose $25 to pick up the Death Certificate in a week or so at Divino, if you paid Divino to process it, or you can pick it up yourself. Jose can arrange this.
No where in the Ecuadorian system are deaths of foreigners automatically reported to their home country.
- After your responsible person has received your Death Certificate, they will need to contact the appropriate Embassy and send them a copy.
- The Embassy will need a statement that Divino can provide stating they did the cremation (invoice is NOT sufficient).
- Divino provides this document at no cost, but you need to ask. Ask at body pickup or someone will need to pick it up from Divino.
- There will be a form to complete on the appropriate Embassy website. Do a search for “Report Death of a __________ citizen out of the country” to find the appropriate Embassy and instructions.
- The Embassy will translate the Death Certificate to the appropriate language and apostille to be used in the home country, report the death and send you copies.
- Contact Yadira Alarcon, if you need help.
US pensioner's are NOT due a payment the last month of their lives.
- Even if the pensioner dies on the last day of the month, they are not due a payment for that month.
- If the payment has already been deposited into your account (or check sent), it will IMMEDIATELY be withdrawn from the account when they are notified of the death, possibly creating an overdraft.
- They will pursue your spouse or estate, if insufficient funds exist.
- It is a Federal crime to obtain the funds of a deceased pensioner.
- US Social Security should be notified of your death by the Ecuadorian US Embassy when you file the paperwork with them.
Might be due a $255 Death Benefit
- If the deceased receives a US Social Security pension, the responsible person will need to contact Social Security to determine what survivor’s benefits they might be eligible for.
- It is possible a $250 Death Benefit might be due, as well as monthly pension changes for the spouse.
$1,000 Mortuary Benefit
- If the deceased has an account at CACPE and they are the primary account holder, the spouse or blood or adopted children can claim the $1,000 Mortuary Benefit.
- You can also state you want your Executor to claim it in your Will.
- If your next of kin is not in Ecuador, the process to get this benefit is complicated and expensive and pretty much makes it not worth the bother.
- You have 60 days to claim this benefit.
Some changes might be required
- Contact a Visa Facilitator to determine if anything needs to be done.
- Laws change frequently.
