Guidance on what to do in the event of a death.

This is a step by step guide to try to help if the above situation occurs.

At Home.

If a sudden death occurs, phone the Guardia Civil on the international number 112. They will come to the home, then wait until the Judge arrives to certify death.

Unlike in the U.K,  there may be a wait, but the deceased cannot be moved until this procedure has been completed.

You will need the funeral director, the two numbers I have put down are both English speaking and once they have been called, they will take care of everything.

You will need to give the undertaker the deceased passport and, if they have one, the social security number.

Arrangements will then be made.

These two undertakers fully understand we may need extra time, than is the normal here in Spain, to allow family etc to arrive from abroad.

In the event of death in a hospital.

DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING until the undertaker that you want has arrived. Once you have the services of the undertaker then, as above, they will take care of everything according to your wishes.

If anyone wishes to leave their body to science then arrangements will have to be made beforehand, as the person concerned is the only person that can give permission to do this. My advice on this is to register with the nearest hospital which has a Faculty of medicine.  I believe that the La Nacional have a provision for this.

Remember this is Spain and not the U.K., things are done differently here. If you have any questions regarding this, then just ask Polly.

Telephone numbers:

Francisco Camero.  Leslie Thomson’s mobile. 618 75 61 55.

La Nacional  James  637 798 387

Juan Pacheco 902 408 100/ 637 765 232

 Bear in mind that funerals are not cheap in Spain. Depending on what you require, the cost may be upwards of 3,500 euros.