# Changes to regulations on funerals



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Good news, though hopefully it won't affect any of us for a long time! 



> A draft law which will reduce the cost of funerals, break the monopoly of the large insurance companies and protect vulnerable bereaved families from exploitation is currently going through the Spanish parliamentary system.
> 
> The law also aims to remove some obsolete requirements which cause distress, extra expense and fulfill no useful purpose. These include the necessity to wait for 24 hours before a burial and the requirement that the body is transferred by a funeral director authorized the municipal area where the person died or where the burial will take place.


GOVERNMENT AIMS TO SMASH INSURANCE COMPANIES? MONOPOLY ON FUNERALS | nexonr

El Gobierno elimina el plazo de 24 horas para enterrar a un fallecido | Política | EL PAS


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> Good news, though hopefully it won't affect any of us for a long time!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I was rather surprised by the "get buried in less than 24 hours" thingy. It hardly gives you time to assimilate what has happened, does it?
Mind you, I suppose it's better than waiting 2 weeks as you do in the UK, which is at the other end of the burying scale


----------



## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

A lady I know lost her husband and was faced with the cost of a funeral and no money to pay for it. 
Eventually the crematoria agreed to cremate her husband for the sum of 1500 euros, but would not release the ashes until the wife or son paid the sum in full. 
The poor woman and her son were in a state of distress but thankfully their friends rallied and had a whip round and the ashes were released. 
Thing is the whole thing was as they later related to me was rushed without deference etc, and they felt pressured to get the money by the end of the week, the same week he had died or else the funeral director would dispose of the ashes.
How heartless, yes they should be paid, but to threaten to just dispose of the ashes is bordering on being vile in my opinion.
By the way, there was no funeral service, the wife and son received a phone call to tell them the cremation had taken place and the ashes were ready as soon as they had the money.


----------



## Maimee (Jun 23, 2011)

JoCatalunya said:


> By the way, there was no funeral service, the wife and son received a phone call to tell them the cremation had taken place and the ashes were ready as soon as they had the money.


My understanding is that there is never a funeral service with cremation. I think that it is expected that you make arrangement yourself for a church service for people to pay their respects. As a bereavement counsellor I feel that this is unsatisfactory as it adds to the families grief because they feel that they have not acknowledged the death of their family member in an appropriate manner. It very much depends on your own thought patterns and your family beliefs whether a funeral service is important to you or not. However, as human beings we do tend to need something to mark the sad occasion.


----------



## JoCatalunya (Mar 16, 2011)

Maimee said:


> My understanding is that there is never a funeral service with cremation. I think that it is expected that you make arrangement yourself for a church service for people to pay their respects. As a bereavement counsellor I feel that this is unsatisfactory as it adds to the families grief because they feel that they have not acknowledged the death of their family member in an appropriate manner. It very much depends on your own thought patterns and your family beliefs whether a funeral service is important to you or not. However, as human beings we do tend to need something to mark the sad occasion.


I wholeheartedly agree, whilst one need not be religeous I do believe it is a good thing to mark someones passing if only with a get together to remember the deceased and thier life etc otherwise we would be no better than animals surely. 
I think what upset the family the most was not knowing. The receiving of a phone call after the event felt very cold as if their loved one was nothing more than a hunk of meat to be disposed of.


----------



## Maimee (Jun 23, 2011)

JoCatalunya said:


> I wholeheartedly agree, whilst one need not be religeous I do believe it is a good thing to mark someones passing if only with a get together to remember the deceased and thier life etc otherwise we would be no better than animals surely.
> I think what upset the family the most was not knowing. The receiving of a phone call after the event felt very cold as if their loved one was nothing more than a hunk of meat to be disposed of.


This is the saddest part of the whole thing. Culturally it seems like the Spanish have a very accepting view of death in so far as it is a fact of life, they face it and deal with it in a more matter of fact way than we as Brits tend to. So I guess for the undertaker the telephone call was no different than the garage phoning to say that your car is ready for collection whereas for anyone who does not have the same religious beliefs it is hard to take and hard to understand. Do not get me wrong I am not condonning what has happened to the family, in fact I am very upset for them. This is the problem that many of us will face by staying here and it is good to highlight it so that people are fully aware of what can happen.


----------



## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I have first-hand experience of this having lost my husband nine months ago. He died in hospital and they arranged for the funeral company to come and collect the body and discuss arrangements with me. I had no idea about anything but had to accept what I was told. I chose the cheapest options but still had to pay €3,300 to the funeral director for transport, coffin, etc., plus €1,700 to the crematorium. Just like that - be warned. 
There was no service, we were just given a small room for the 24 hours until the cremation and left. It's an awful system, awful. I'm delighted that perhaps something will be done about it.


----------



## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

A couple of years ago, a friend of ours here in Spain died. He died on Friday evening and the cremation was on Sunday morning. His family in UK did not have time to arrange flights and come over to say goodbye.

When this happened, we decided that we would take out a funeral plan. We have arranged and pre-paid for our funerals. A difficult thing to do but we did not want the distress that our friends family experienced.

You can pay for a delay before the funeral. We have arranged 9 days. We have specified where we want to be cremated. The type of service we want. What is to happen to our ashes etc. We have arranged for an English speaking funeral director to make all the arrangements so family in the UK will not have to worry about not speaking Spanish.

We carry a card to say all this has been arranged.

I know this is a difficult subject but I do recommend people think about this.


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

DunWorkin said:


> A couple of years ago, a friend of ours here in Spain died. He died on Friday evening and the cremation was on Sunday morning. His family in UK did not have time to arrange flights and come over to say goodbye.
> 
> When this happened, we decided that we would take out a funeral plan. We have arranged and pre-paid for our funerals. A difficult thing to do but we did not want the distress that our friends family experienced.
> 
> ...


That's amazing. I'm sure more people would do this if they knew they could. Can you give more details like how much it costs, can you do it with any funeral parlour etc?

I just know I want no priest, no religious service, and no shipping back. Perhaps I should carry a card saying all that?!


----------



## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

We have ours with Avalon

Spain | Avalon Trustee

They have several plans depending on what you want. 

We have the Windsor plan which cost about €4000 each. We extended the time before the funeral from 4 days to 9 days and that cost a bit more. You can add all sorts of other requests like what type of service you want, what music etc etc.

It sounds a lot but when you cost out a funeral you would be talking about at least €3000 and this cost is probably going to increase in the future.


----------



## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

One of the first questions from the Funeral Director was, 'Do you have a policy?' - 'A what?' I replied. Apparently they are very common here.


----------



## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> That's amazing. I'm sure more people would do this if they knew they could. Can you give more details like how much it costs, can you do it with any funeral parlour etc?
> 
> I just know I want no priest, no religious service, and no shipping back. Perhaps I should carry a card saying all that?!


That might not be a bad idea! I read somewhere that if you want a secular despatch you have to be cremated, because the church owns all the cemeteries and the default is to have some sort of service and you have to "opt out" if this isn't your thing. Does anyone have any more information about this?


----------



## Guest (Jul 5, 2011)

U have not read the changes yet but will do. 

My husband died here in Spain over a year and half ago. The cremation was about two weeks later there was no push to have it sooner I simply had to say when the family in UK could get here. We had a room for the day no regilious service instead people read out what they wanted to say. I did get phone calls for funeral services but that was not a problem really. The funeral directors we had did a marvellous job considering I had little spanish they had less english and my interpreter was a native Belgian ! The cost was about the same as a recent funeral I had attended in UK. 

This is Spain and it is all looked upon differently as has been said a fact of life which it is. I felt at the time certain elements were not right ie whole arrangements were made in a dirty area at the back of the hospital via pc and on mucky plastic chairs. No office no comfort no privacy ( people being shown their loved ones bodies for indentification in the corridor through dirty doors) Being asked to pay on the day in cash was hard that really needs changing also


----------



## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

ValL said:


> This is Spain and it is all looked upon differently as has been said a fact of life which it is. I felt at the time certain elements were not right ie whole arrangements were made in a dirty area at the back of the hospital via pc and on mucky plastic chairs. No office no comfort no privacy ( people being shown their loved ones bodies for indentification in the corridor through dirty doors) Being asked to pay on the day in cash was hard that really needs changing also


It's that bedside manner thing again. When my daughter had meningitis, we were told she might not make it in what was effectively a broom cupboard stacked high with files. The waiting room outside intensive care was two ripped chairs in the corridor ... It was really hard to think positively in that climate.
But the medical treatment was right and professional. She did make it 

When you say you had a room for the day, where was that? At the crematorium or at the funeral parlour?


----------

