# Is there any help for funeral costs?



## JaneyO (Sep 24, 2012)

I have heard that when people have paid for a funeral at some later date they get some sort of refund from the Spanish Government. I don't know anything about this, wondered if anyone else did. My friend's mum who just died was a pensioner and didn't pay tax so if it's a tax refund no joy there. Is there any help at all in Spain to pay funeral costs for people with very limited resources?


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Not as far as I am aware. Some people take out a private funeral plan to help with these expenses - and they ARE expensive here. 

Government help doesn't seem to happen very much here!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Never heard of that.

The few people I know who've lost a husband or wife have certainly never had a 'rebate'. And these people are fully resident and paying taxes in Spain.



Where did you 'hear' this piece of news?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

At the risk of sounding harsh and insensitive, I would venture to suggest that if you can't afford to die in Spain, perhaps you really cannot afford to live in Spain?


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Out of interest, roughly how much is the cheapest rock- bottom no frills funeral here?
Once I know the cost I'll make sure I've got enough put aside.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I have heard that if people die and there is no family, for example, that the equivalent of a "pauper's funeral" (sorry, I can't think of a more sensitive term for it) does exist in Spain, but how they are arranged and who bears the cost, I do not know.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Out of interest, roughly how much is the cheapest rock- bottom no frills funeral here?
> Once I know the cost I'll make sure I've got enough put aside.


I've heard around €2,500-€3,000 - but like everything else, I bet they're more expensive in Marbella!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> I have heard that if people die and there is no family, for example, that the equivalent of a "pauper's funeral" (sorry, I can't think of a more sensitive term for it) does exist in Spain, but how they are arranged and who bears the cost, I do not know.


After five years you are dug up and your remains placed in a common grave.
That wouldn't bother me.
Apparently you can't just scatter ashes any old where. Luckily we have the sea five minutes' drive away.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> After five years you are dug up and your remains placed in a common grave.
> That wouldn't bother me.
> Apparently you can't just scatter ashes any old where. Luckily we have the sea five minutes' drive away.


Wouldn't bother me, either - I've always said they can put me in a black plastic sack and dump it in the basura for all I care, and my OH says the same (about himself not about me, that is!). Would have to be within permitted hours for putting the rubbish out, of course.

I have read that about not being allowed to scatter ashes, too. Your preferred solution makes me even more resolved never to swim in the sea, though.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> I have heard that if people die and there is no family, for example, that the equivalent of a "pauper's funeral" (sorry, I can't think of a more sensitive term for it) does exist in Spain, but how they are arranged and who bears the cost, I do not know.


They are called _entierros sin recursos_ and paid for by the Ayuntamiento. The Catholic charity Cáritas will also give financial assistance to people who can't afford the full works.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> I've heard around €2,500-€3,000 - but like everything else, I bet they're more expensive in Marbella!


I suppose you get a better class of urn there...

Mind you, I never set foot in Marbella whilst still alive so I literally won'tbe seen dead there...


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## JaneyO (Sep 24, 2012)

Thought it didn't sound very likely when I heard it, the words 'help' and 'Spanish Government' don't often occur in the same sentence. Just thought if anyone would know it would be the good folks on here. Will post what it costs for the benefit of the forward thinkers!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

JaneyO said:


> Thought it didn't sound very likely when I heard it, the words 'help' and 'Spanish Government' don't often occur in the same sentence. Just thought if anyone would know it would be the good folks on here. Will post what it costs for the benefit of the forward thinkers!


But why should the Spanish government help imprudent immigrants, if they have never paid into the Spanish insurance system? 
People in the UK moan. about foreigners doing that, taking out without paying in.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

I'd like to know what to do if you don't want a religious ceremony or burial. I heard last weekend as a non catholic I wouldn't be able to be buried in a catholic burial ground, which I don't want anyway, but then what is the alternative? I always imagined that it was going to be difficult to avoid the whole catholic funeral business, but now it seems they don't want me anyway, so just where would my body end up?


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

I would suggest it would end up in smoke!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Calas felices said:


> I would suggest it would end up in smoke!


That's true.
And then someone just has to pick up an urn I suppose?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> I'd like to know what to do if you don't want a religious ceremony or burial. I heard last weekend as a non catholic I wouldn't be able to be buried in a catholic burial ground, which I don't want anyway, but then what is the alternative? I always imagined that it was going to be difficult to avoid the whole catholic funeral business, but now it seems they don't want me anyway, so just where would my body end up?


I think you can have a cremation with no form of service whatsoever, if that's what you want. That's probably what I'd go for although what I'd prefer is a woodland burial with a biodegradable coffin -but as far as I know they don't have woodland burial sites in Spain (yet).


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> I suppose you get a better class of urn there...
> 
> [/QUOTE
> 
> Gold plated and decorated with Swarovski crystals, probably. If I start saving up now ......


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> mrypg9 said:
> 
> 
> > I suppose you get a better class of urn there...
> ...


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## JaneyO (Sep 24, 2012)

mrypg9 said:


> But why should the Spanish government help imprudent immigrants, if they have never paid into the Spanish insurance system?
> People in the UK moan. about foreigners doing that, taking out without paying in.


You make assumptions. The people in question are and always have been hard working and totally legitimate, registered, paying their taxes and national insurance contributions. They nursed their mother for 3 years through alzeimers dsease and the only reason she didnt pay any tax was because her income was below the limit. Don't be so quick to condemn people


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

JaneyO said:


> Thought it didn't sound very likely when I heard it, the words 'help' and 'Spanish Government' don't often occur in the same sentence. Just thought if anyone would know it would be the good folks on here. Will post what it costs for the benefit of the forward thinkers!


This sort of social assistance is decided at local level rather than by the national government. If they are having difficulty meeting funeral costs it is definitely worth asking at the Ayuntamiento, or the social worker at the health centre where the deceased was registered.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I think you can have a cremation with no form of service whatsoever, if that's what you want. That's probably what I'd go for although what I'd prefer is a woodland burial with a biodegradable coffin -but as far as I know they don't have woodland burial sites in Spain (yet).


Yes, that's what we're after, but I can't find anything about "alternative" burial sites, nor coffins.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, that's what we're after, but I can't find anything about "alternative" burial sites, nor coffins.


Don't die until the PSOE get back in - they had drafted a bill liberalising funeral arrangements in Spain but didn't get a chance to pass it before the last election.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

JaneyO said:


> You make assumptions. The people in question are and always have been hard working and totally legitimate, registered, paying their taxes and national insurance contributions. They nursed their mother for 3 years through alzeimers dsease and the only reason she didnt pay any tax was because her income was below the limit. Don't be so quick to condemn people


But you are referring to the mother, not the couple. So. My point is valid. 
When my mother died in the UK her meagre savings just cobvered the cost of her funeral but had they not, I would have been expected to pay for it.
Quite right too. It is the family's responsibilirty to care for their loved ones in death, not the state.
Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to condemn the Spanish Government, as so many immigrants seem to like doing.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Thinking about it, the OP has raised a very important topic for people retiring to Spain..well, anyone thinking of moving to Spain.
We are all going to die, that's for sure, and we will have to be disposed of. Most of us wish that to be in a dignified way, if not for ourselves, for the sake of our families and friends and indeed for human life itself. We all joke about plastic bags and dustbins but we wouldn't dispose of our dead pets in that way!
But funerals have to be paid for and they are expensive. So this has to be part of your financial planning when coming to live in Spain.
If you can't set aside a lump sum, you have the option of a funeral plan where you pay in instalments according to your income. If you can't afford even that perhaps you should not think of coming to Spain. 
Now I know thecost of the cheapest funeral I shall put that amount in a separate account and add to it annualy to accommodate rising prices. If my partner or son want a more elaborate send- off which I doubt, let them pay for it. I won't be around to appreciate it.
It seems to me that as responsible adults we should factor in the cost of dying as well as the cost of living in Spain when planning a move.
The Spanish state whether national or local shouldn't have to subsidise our interments. 
I


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

JaneyO said:


> Thought it didn't sound very likely when I heard it, the words 'help' and 'Spanish Government' don't often occur in the same sentence. Just thought if anyone would know it would be the good folks on here. Will post what it costs for the benefit of the forward thinkers!


I believe it has always been the "norm" in Spain for every member of the family to have funeral insurance (decesos) which is paid from a very young age so the premiums are very small. Only the very, very poorest socially excluded people would not have this. 

Because of this, meeting funeral expenses is not usually an issue even for people of modest means.

Please do post the information about the funeral costs, I'm sure it would be helpful.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> But you are referring to the mother, not the couple. So. My point is valid.
> When my mother died in the UK her meagre savings just cobvered the cost of her funeral but had they not, I would have been expected to pay for it.
> Quite right too. It is the family's responsibilirty to care for their loved ones in death, not the state.
> Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to condemn the Spanish Government, as so many immigrants seem to like doing.


Having enough to bury yourself was always a point of pride to the working classes - my old Aunt still uses that very phrase.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Now I know thecost of the cheapest funeral I shall put that amount in a separate account and add to it annualy to accommodate rising prices. If my partner or son want a more elaborate send- off which I doubt, let them pay for it. I won't be around to appreciate it.
> 
> I


I wonder - do Spanish banks allow funds in an account belonging to the deceased to be used to meet funeral expenses? I know it's normal practice here for accounts to be frozen once the bank is informed of the death.

When my father died in the UK, the bank allowed the funeral director's bill to be paid from his account, but otherwise it was frozen until we'd obtained the Grant of Probate. We had to pay the other expenses of the funeral (catering, etc) ourselves.

Does anyone know if you can access funds in a bank account here to pay a funeral bill? Or would it be better to have them put by in cash? Do funeral directors accept credit cards? So many questions .....

Nobody is getting a boiled ham tea at my expense, anyway, so I won't have to worry about paying for that.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> I wonder - do Spanish banks allow funds in an account belonging to the deceased to be used to meet funeral expenses? I know it's normal practice here for accounts to be frozen once the bank is informed of the death.
> 
> When my father died in the UK, the bank allowed the funeral director's bill to be paid from his account, but otherwise it was frozen until we'd obtained the Grant of Probate. We had to pay the other expenses of the funeral (catering, etc) ourselves.
> 
> ...


You've made me consider how best to put money aside...maybe a payment to my son..
How right you are about working- class pride in being able to pay for a funeral. My old gran would proudly tell us every now and then that "i've got enough to bury me".
She never had a bank account, kept suchmoney as she had in one of those black tin lockable cashboxes..are you old enough to remember those?
Whenever she wanted any money out of it she hadto use a long- handled yard broom to get it out from under her brass bedstead.
The very thought of 'going on the parish' would itself have finished her off.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Lynn R said:


> I believe it has always been the "norm" in Spain for every member of the family to have funeral insurance (decesos) which is paid from a very young age so the premiums are very small. _Only the very, very poorest socially excluded people would not have this._


And my husband...
I'm pretty sure in my husband's generation this has gone by the by for many, just as it has in many other countries


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

This is all very interestng to me as I very much want to get all of this sorted out and although says he does too we are not making any progress. He did tell me he didn't think funeral insurance was worth it...


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> You've made me consider how best to put money aside...maybe a payment to my son..
> How right you are about working- class pride in being able to pay for a funeral. My old gran would proudly tell us every now and then that "i've got enough to bury me".
> She never had a bank account, kept suchmoney as she had in one of those black tin lockable cashboxes..are you old enough to remember those?
> Whenever she wanted any money out of it she hadto use a long- handled yard broom to get it out from under her brass bedstead.
> The very thought of 'going on the parish' would itself have finished her off.


I know the kind of boxes you mean, but I only ever used one as the petty cash box at work!

When my father and his sister were born, my grandparents took out a "penny policy" with the Prudential for each of them. The premium was just that, one old penny per week and the Man from the Pru used to call each week to collect it. I found the policy document amongst my Dad's papers after he died, it was a really ornate affair almost like an illuminated manuscript. I said to my brother, who was my fellow executor, that we should have it framed as it would probably be worth more than the policy (which had been made "paid-up" many years before). When I contacted the company, though, I was amazed to find it paid out very nearly £1,000. Not enough to bury him, thanks to inflation, but a lot more than I expected for a penny a week!


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Pesky Wesky said:


> This is all very interestng to me as I very much want to get all of this sorted out and although says he does too we are not making any progress. He did tell me he didn't think funeral insurance was worth it...


I'm not sure it is if you don't start paying the premiums until you're older, whilst we are both around we will just make sure each of us can have fast access to enough funds to pay for a funeral. If I was left on my own, I think I would investigate the cost of a pre-paid funeral, to save complications for my family back in the UK who wouldn't have a clue what to do. I'd go to a local funeral director, though, not one of the companies who advertise in the expat press as (call me cynical) I suspect the cost would be considerably higher than a local firm.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Lynn R said:


> I know the kind of boxes you mean, but I only ever used one as the petty cash box at work!
> 
> When my father and his sister were born, my grandparents took out a "penny policy" with the Prudential for each of them. The premium was just that, one old penny per week and the Man from the Pru used to call each week to collect it. I found the policy document amongst my Dad's papers after he died, it was a really ornate affair almost like an illuminated manuscript. I said to my brother, who was my fellow executor, that we should have it framed as it would probably be worth more than the policy (which had been made "paid-up" many years before). When I contacted the company, though, I was amazed to find it paid out very nearly £1,000. Not enough to bury him, thanks to inflation, but a lot more than I expected for a penny a week!


My mum had one of those, dating from 1944! I kept it after she died...as you say, an ornate, scroll- like document in purple fancy script. My mum's policy didn't pay out much. Twenty years ago her funeral cost £900, nothing fancy but plain and dignified.
Dazed by grief, I was almost taken in by the unctuous undertaker who showed me a fancy glossy brochure of ornate granite headstones telling me how important it wasto have lasting remembrance of the loved one etc...
I was about to order 'The Balmoral' or some similar named stone when Sandra deftly removed the brochure and said sweetly 'We'll talk about that later'.
My mother would have risen from the dead to protest at what she would have thought of asneedless extravagance.
As indeed it would have been. Not a day passes that I don't think of my mum, stoneless as she is.
Commerce in life, commerce in death...the way we live..and die.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

Unfortunately I have experience of funeral costs.

My husband died on the Thursday and was cremated on the Friday, as is the Spanish way. The funeral director was called by the hospital and from his brochure I picked the cheapest coffin, still expensive and overly ornate but the cheapest nonetheless. The cost of this plus transport 20km was €3,000. The crematorium - overnight in the chapel of rest and cremation (no service whatsoever as non-religious) plus urn and one floral arrangement - was also €3,000, so €6,000 went up in smoke that day. I hope nobody thinks this comment callous but I, and my husband alike, would never have wanted anything like this in any way, shape or form. 

Although hubby had been fighting cancer for 19 months, I was unprepared and totally taken aback to have to deal with this and everything else. In hindsight, I should have looked into it earlier. In hindsight I was probably taken advantage of. Let my ignorance stand as a warning to others.

I have since looked into donating my body to medical research, as my Mum did in the UK, but that looks quite tricky here as there are many exclusions. I would happily be lobbed in a bin bag into a landfill site. What an utterly ridiculous waste of money and resources funerals are.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

We both have policies with Mapfre. The suegra wants her ashes to be scattered from the top of a pinnacle near Lucena together with those of the suegro that currently rest in a plastic bag inside a US$10 plastic urn on the first floor. If officially you are allowed to supply the surrounding countryside with abono, what can they do if you do it surreptitiously. make you go for hundreds of square kms vacuuming it up?


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Madliz said:


> Unfortunately I have experience of funeral costs.
> 
> My husband died on the Thursday and was cremated on the Friday, as is the Spanish way. The funeral director was called by the hospital and from his brochure I picked the cheapest coffin, still expensive and overly ornate but the cheapest nonetheless. The cost of this plus transport 20km was €3,000. The crematorium - overnight in the chapel of rest and cremation (no service whatsoever as non-religious) plus urn and one floral arrangement - was also €3,000, so €6,000 went up in smoke that day. I hope nobody thinks this comment callous but I, and my husband alike, would never have wanted anything like this in any way, shape or form.
> 
> ...


We lost a friend suddenly to heart failure a couple of years ago. I believe the transport to the tanatorio was free, but the other costs (preparing and storing the body overnight, renting a room for a small memorial service, coffin, urn, flowers and the cremation itself) came to over €4,000. Talk about a closed shop! And they wouldn't release the death certificate to his young daughters until it had been paid. 

As for donating your body for research, I believe the way to do it is make an arrangement with the nearest university hospital. There is no national register.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Alcalaina said:


> We lost a friend suddenly to heart failure a couple of years ago. I believe the transport to the tanatorio was free, but the other costs (preparing and storing the body overnight, renting a room for a small memorial service, coffin, urn, flowers and the cremation itself) came to over €4,000. Talk about a closed shop! And they wouldn't release the death certificate to his young daughters until it had been paid.
> 
> As for donating your body for research, I believe the way to do it is make an arrangement with the nearest university hospital. There is no national register.


Look at latino.foxnews.com , article written on May20 2014, to see what can happen to donated bodies!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

extranjero said:


> Look at latino.foxnews.com to see what can happen to donated bodies!


Apart from the fact that your link does not lead to anything on the subject you suggest, that site is Fox News which is part of the Murdoch empire and notorious for sensational inaccuracies.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

baldilocks said:


> Apart from the fact that your link does not lead to anything on the subject you suggest, that site is Fox News which is part of the Murdoch empire and notorious for sensational inaccuracies.


Just add the words rotting corpses
There was widespread reporting of this scandal, about rotting corpses left at a university hospital, Madrid.I just chose one of them


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

extranjero said:


> Look at latino.foxnews.com , article written on May20 2014, to see what can happen to donated bodies!


can you post an_ actual link_ to the article _please_ !!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> Just add the words rotting corpses
> There was widespread reporting of this scandal, about rotting corpses left at a university hospital, Madrid.I just chose one of them


Yes, that *is* true.
Here's a link to an article
http://elpais.com/m/elpais/2014/06/17/inenglish/1403011983_340734.html


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

My Dad's ashes were scattered over the garden wall of Down House, former home of Charles Darwin. Please don't tell.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

xabiachica said:


> can you post an_ actual link_ to the article _please_ !!


I 've no idea how to do links.
Simply googling rotting corpses in Spanish hospital would have taken you to one of the sites. whether a newspaper report is true or not is down to the newspaper itself, not someone who refers to it in a post.
It seems el pais is regarded as the creme de la creme of newspapers on this site, and everything else published by any other paper is rubbished!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

extranjero said:


> I 've no idea how to do links.
> Simply googling rotting corpses in Spanish hospital would have taken you to one of the sites. whether a newspaper report is true or not is down to the newspaper itself, not someone who refers to it in a post.
> It seems el pais is regarded as the creme de la creme of newspapers on this site, and everything else published by any other paper is rubbished!


how to post a link :

highlight & copy the www........ which is in your browser


click







which you'll find above the message box in which you are writing your message

paste the www..... into the box which will pop up

click *OK* & you have posted a link

the issue isn't whether the info is good/reliable - the issue is that we need you to post links to the article you quote/refer to


forum rules


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

extranjero said:


> It seems el pais is regarded as the creme de la creme of newspapers on this site, and everything else published by any other paper is rubbished!


It is the most respected paper in Spain, and quite handily, publishes in English too!
Fox's reputation is, let's say, different.
But here is Publico too (Spanish only)
Público.es - Principal
and the ABC and El Mundo, both of which I don't personally like


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Wasn't it Mrypg9 who had a story of lying down reading a book a being covered in ashes from somebody's ashes scattering ceremony??
YukYukYuk!!
Please think about all those ashes swirling around and consider burying them instead.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Wasn't it Mrypg9 who had a story of lying down reading a book a being covered in ashes from somebody's ashes scattering ceremony??
> YukYukYuk!!
> Please think about all those ashes swirling around and consider burying them instead.


I vaguely recall something along those lines.
This heat is making me feel so tired and downright old that it could have been the ashes of Pompeii covering me...


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> I vaguely recall something along those lines.
> This heat is making me feel so tired and downright old that it could have been the ashes of Pompeii covering me...


Lava lamp been leaking again?


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

I know a neighbour who's wife died not that long ago & he said that an office in the hospital arranged most things for just over 1k (basic mind)


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## SandraP (Apr 23, 2014)

My mum asked me just the other day, if we retire to Spain & my husband, Steve dies before me then what will happen to me when I die? To be honest, when I am dead I will be in no fit state to be bothered 
When my dad died 4 years ago in the UK I buried his ashes in the crem where my baby brother & sister are scattered, but I did it without permission and stuck a memorial urn/vase on top of him, please don't tell Wigan crem they might want me to remove him 
I have got some of dad in a glass paperweight, called memorial glass and some of him is still in the original box, in a carrier bag, hanging from a nail in the loft :biggrin1:


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I like the paperweight idea but I can't really see the attraction of hanging on to ashes. They are just chemical residue and don't contain any essence of the loved one. My dad will be with me always because I carry his genes in my DNA and his ideas in my head - that's good enough for me!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Tbh I'm more concerned with what will happen to our beloved dogs when they are no more..I couldn't bear the thought of them being chucked on a pile or dumped in a pit somewhere, like unwanted garbage.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

mrypg9 said:


> Tbh I'm more concerned with what will happen to our beloved dogs when they are no more..I couldn't bear the thought of them being chucked on a pile or dumped in a pit somewhere, like unwanted garbage.


I wonder if they have pet cemeteries in Spain, I know they do in the UK. Probably not, given the lack of alternative burial sites for humans.

I don't think I would want to keep anybody's ashes hanging around, either on display or in a cupboard, however much I'd loved them - personally I find the idea creepy. There was a case earlier this year somewhere in Oldham, Greater Manchester where an elderly lady had her handbag snatched in the street and it contained her late husband's ashes which she'd been carrying around with her. Having something like that happen at her age is bad enough without the added distress of losing something so irreplaceable, IMO it would have been much better for her to have had them buried in a garden of remembrance at the crematorium. It doesn't bear thinking about what the thief might have done with them.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Well, one result of this thread has been to make me think about where to have my ashes disposed of.
Much as one of Sandra's many designer handbags might be a suitably dignified resting place,I know without asking that it is out of the question.
Ditto cupboards.
It will be the sea. Only a five minute drive away and she can pop into Mercadona on the wáy back..


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## Calas felices (Nov 29, 2007)

She could always put you in an egg timer!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

We currently have the f-i-l's ashes in a plastic bag in a gold-coloured plastic urn in the hallway on the 1st (UK style) floor awaiting the m-i-l to join him being scattered to the four winds. She didn't want to leave him behind in Florida.

Even though I was quite fond of him, my personal view is that it is morbid and I think he would have agreed with me.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Lynn R said:


> I wonder if they have pet cemeteries in Spain, I know they do in the UK. Probably not, given the lack of alternative burial sites for humans.


I very much doubt it. When our last cat had to be put down, the local vet said she could do it but she didn't have disposal facilities. She suggested we take the body into the campo ... We couldn't bring ourselves to do that, so we took her to a vet on the coast to be cremated. We could have got the ashes back, but we declined.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> I very much doubt it. When our last cat had to be put down, the local vet said she could do it but she didn't have disposal facilities. She suggested we take the body into the campo ... We couldn't bring ourselves to do that, so we took her to a vet on the coast to be cremated. We could have got the ashes back, but we declined.


I don't want the ashes either but like you I couldn't just leave them in the campo.
We buried our GSD Ferdinand in our neighbour's back garden in the UK, it was more of a field, really.
Everyone in our street liked knowing he was still around.
Like Our Little Azor, he was a gentle giant.


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## castaway06 (Jul 25, 2014)

Having been through this "process" here with the burial option the costof the tanatorio, transport, intial internment was about 3000 euros

In las palmas at least there is both catholic and non catholic cemetaries, in fact the non catholic one is a wonderful mix of all sorts of religions and denominations from around the world.

As for the 5 years and they dig you up thing, this is both true and un-true. When you have that fatefull meeting with the undertaker you will be presented with an enormous form that is amongst other things a shopping list of what you want done. Oneof these options is do you want a niche in a wall and how high up (lower is more expensive) and then for how long do you want it. The default option seems to be five years but other lengths up to 99 years are possible. 

Now at the end of your period ( 5 years in my case) they write to you to ask if you want to extend it. If you sayno or dont reply within a period (6 months?) Then the remains are removed and the niche "recycled"

The costs by the way (here for last year) were 295 euros for 5 years, 950 euros for 50 years, and 1400 euros for 99 years


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

castaway06 said:


> Having been through this "process" here with the burial option the costof the tanatorio, transport, intial internment was about 3000 euros
> 
> In las palmas at least there is both catholic and non catholic cemetaries, in fact the non catholic one is a wonderful mix of all sorts of religions and denominations from around the world.
> 
> ...


At the cemetery here you get moved up a level every ten (?) years unless the relatives pay to keep you near the ground. It makes a difference on All Souls, as they don't have to bring a stepladder to give you a good scrub!


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