question about dying in DR

Good question. I don't know the answers but would add another question:
Once the Morgue is done, is their documentation sufficient to get a Certificate from the U.S. Consulate of "Death of an American Abroad"? This I'm assuming is the key to getting estate monies in the states released to heirs.

kg4jxt said:

First, let me say that I feel fine. But I am staying in the DR permanently and some day I will croak. What are the laws, as opposed to customs? For example, my neighbors, responding to my inquiries, have explained that there is a local cemetery with concrete vaults where deceased are placed. For those not owning a vault, one may be leased for a decade or so from one or another of the families who DO own such a vault. The process is that a deceased is taken to the hospital where there is a morgue. For an extranjero, an autopsy is performed and a death certificate is issued. Then the family arranges with a funeraria to transport the body in casket to the cemetery. Or, the funeraria can transport the casketed body to a facility in Santo Domingo that performs cremations.

These are the customary processes, but are they legally required? Or can the family just pick up the body at the morgue and take it home. Could my family legally bury me without a casket in unmarked grave on my (former) property? Return me to nature without a lot of fuss? Once the official paperwork from the morgue is issued, is there any legal certification or documentation produced by a funeraria that is indispensible? Someday, we all will have such issues to face...

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Frank12 did a piece on this a couple of years ago. Is he presently on furlough? He wanted to bury his father on father's own land and got in trouble and he is a born Dominican.
Der Fish

As I recall, there is only one crematorium, Blandinos(?), yes SD but maybe STI too.

I have gone into this very thoroughly as I am quite old and have had much cancer ,which mercifully I am on top of at present. It is so easy .all your trustees or solicitor need to do ,on your death, is to call Funeraria Blandino and they do everything . They are hugely experienced and most professional. If you wish to be cremated you should sign a consent form and have it with your will . I went to their offices in Santo Domingo and returned home with all the written information that I needed ,, Blandino will come to your home to pick up the body and then do the entire legal and religious thing for your trustees and they give a quote up front .
I am going to be cremated and then my urn will go to the Episcopal Church for a brief service and then to my home where I have set aside a lot of money for a good wake . I want no mourning ..I really do not like that sort of African-latin tradition . I finally will have my ashes deposited deep on the side of a tennis court I regularly play on... Wish I could be there to see it all !!

Derfish said:

Frank12 did a piece on this a couple of years ago. Is he presently on furlough? He wanted to bury his father on father's own land and got in trouble and he is a born Dominican.
Der Fish

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I'm pleased to say that Frank 12 "liked" a post of mine today, so he's on DR1 even though he's away at present. I suggest you send him a p.m. if you want to contact him.

Kipling333 said:

I have gone into this very thoroughly as I am quite old and have had much cancer ,which mercifully I am on top of at present. It is so easy .all your trustees or solicitor need to do ,on your death, is to call Funeraria Blandino and they do everything . They are hugely experienced and most professional. If you wish to be cremated you should sign a consent form and have it with your will . I went to their offices in Santo Domingo and returned home with all the written information that I needed ,, Blandino will come to your home to pick up the body and then do the entire legal and religious thing for your trustees and they give a quote up front .
I am going to be cremated and then my urn will go to the Episcopal Church for a brief service and then to my home where I have set aside a lot of money for a good wake . I want no mourning ..I really do not like that sort of African-latin tradition . I finally will have my ashes deposited deep on the side of a tennis court I regularly play on... Wish I could be there to see it all !!

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Whats the ballpark price for the Blandino burn etc.

you can read about regulations regarding death here:
https://www.drleyes.com/page/reglamentos/documento/2/195/Poder-Ejecutivo/Policia-Mortuoria/

Expat13 said:

Whats the ballpark price for the Blandino burn etc.

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https://www.eldinero.com.do/17277/la-cremacion-alta-temperatura-para-un-mercado-en-auge/

kg4jxt said:

well the death regulations seem to specify holding time for a body that has not been embalmed, and permitting for embalming, and requirements for transporting a body. But they do not say anything about the regulation of cemeteries themselves, nor crematorias. Most interesting. I suspect the grip of "local custom" will prove far stronger than any possible law, regardless. When I suggested to my most open-minded neighbor that I could simply be cremated in a burn barrel, he nearly fainted! I do not mean to be irreverant or disrespectful of customs, but my dead body is of no further use to me. Convenient and secure disposal is my objective.

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I am not a legal expert but I think what you want to have done is against the law. Mostly for sanitary reasons. You should wait for the DR1 legal expert to chime in when he sees your questions.

Expat13 said:

Whats the ballpark price for the Blandino burn etc.

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Yeah That is an idea let's cremate people in a ball park!
Der Fish

Derfish said:

Yeah That is an idea let's cremate people in a ball park!
Der Fish

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Fish, ya gotta remember where we are....Baseball is the essence of this country and it's people...might as well cremate there, too!

After a person dies, they are either in a hospital or taken to a hospital where some identification is done. The identification information is given to the police to verify and the body is taken to a public morgue where, if its a foriegner, there will be some sort of autopsy done. Morgue is in Santo Domingo or Santiago. The body is held there until family contacts a funeral home if they have not already. The funeral home fills out paperwork along with the morgue and delivers that to the proper embassy. The funeral home also fills out paperwork with the DR and waites for processing a death certificate. Most often the body is cremated and family will choose an urn to take the ashes back to their home country if they want. The home country embassy will at the same time work on a death certificate for use in their country. Someone can request multiple copies at about $10 usd each. The whole process if there is a cremation takes about a month to six weeks or so before family can collect the ashes. The cost three years ago was a bit less than $2,000 usd with a simple urn and if the family wants to take the ashes with them on the plane back to the home country. The funeral home can send the ashes back to the home country for about $400 to $700 depending upon the location of the home country. The transfer price was around $450 to the USA about 3 years ago. I don't know anything about price for a cemetery or mausoleum here in the DR. And, I don't know the price for the non-cremation option.

The whole process have to wait 6 weeks before they collect the ashes ...This is simply NOT correct .Only last year, I went to a private home and then onto a boat where the ashes were dispersed and it was within one week of the man dying. It is always advisable to register with Blandino well before death and have the letter of authority for the cremation .
I really do not know why people here want to get involved when there is a most reputable company here that will do all the work for a most reasonable price. For everything except the repatriation of ashes ,they charge around the $2500 mark .
best to check out all the details on the Blandino site www.blandino.com.do .. They have all the information there

The autopsies for all foreigners to the best of my knowledge are done by Inacif in the capital and Santiago. They are free as required by diplomatic convention. (Another reason to become naturalized not need to chop you up). As mentioned, Blandino (http://www.blandino.com.do/) are the only place currently to do cremations - usually disliked by Dominicans (I want to be cremated in our massive barbecue) but now accepted by the Church if the ashes are buried in a cemetery. The cost of a basic Blandino cremation from memory is around RD$20,000. They also arrange for the death cert from the appropriate embassy. Blandino will also arrange for repatriation of the body which is much more expensive.

No idea about cost of a grave plot or a crypt here - remember unless your coffin is being concreted in then it will be chopped up by machetes to stop it being stolen if it is a nice one. The price of the basic ones is around RD$10-15,000 pesos.

Every hospital has a morgue which is where the bodies go until the family pays the hospital bill although most hospitals send people home to die and the medical examiner will come to the home to certify death. If you die in hospital and your family does not pay then you go to the morgue to wait until they do. Youtube videos show corpses being kidnapped from the morgue and whisked away on a motorbike. Death is one thing at which the Dominicans are very efficient. You can die in bed and within a couple of hours be washed, made up (very little embalming), lying in your open coffin on top of a block of ice on the dining room table. The following morning you are 6 foot under. Ya.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it. You will be dead. It will all be sorted and hundreds will come to your funeral and every day for nine days for the food. Neighbour died recently and cost of food on the last day only was RD$72,000.

Matilda

I am so sorry that there is much false information being given out here ,maybe with best intentions . The Blandino cremation service for a foreigner is much more than 20 ,000 pesos and there is no alternative to Blandino but they do a fantastic job. . For a Dominican style funeral conducted by a local funeral house and if there is no family vault available , the price earlier this year was 17.000 pesos . This included the marquee on the street outside the house and plastic chairs, a cheap coffin,two funeral cars , a pastor and the cost of the grave diggers who will break the coffin with their shovels before concreting in .. I have paid for two of these in the last year ,both in la Romana ,
Very few of the family homes where the deceased lived provide food as friends and family come to pay respects ...The lying in , in this country is seldom longer than one day and tea, coffee and dry biscuits may be provided .It is quite absurd to say that bodies can lie in for nine days in the DR . ..this is not done.
Most off putting to have a serious subject treated with no respect for accuracy .

"You will be dead", that says it all. After you die, your wishes, hopes and aspirations, goals, plans you made, things you said and left unsaid,things you always wanted to do but didn't have the time to do, you don't have time for anymore...rest in peace.

Kipling333 said:

I am so sorry that there is much false information being given out here ,maybe with best intentions . The Blandino cremation service for a foreigner is much more than 20 ,000 pesos and there is no alternative to Blandino but they do a fantastic job. . For a Dominican style funeral conducted by a local funeral house and if there is no family vault available , the price earlier this year was 17.000 pesos . This included the marquee on the street outside the house and plastic chairs, a cheap coffin,two funeral cars , a pastor and the cost of the grave diggers who will break the coffin with their shovels before concreting in .. I have paid for two of these in the last year ,both in la Romana ,
Very few of the family homes where the deceased lived provide food as friends and family come to pay respects ...The lying in , in this country is seldom longer than one day and tea, coffee and dry biscuits may be provided .It is quite absurd to say that bodies can lie in for nine days in the DR . ..this is not done.
Most off putting to have a serious subject treated with no respect for accuracy .

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I didn't say bodies lie in for nine days I said they were buried on the day after death. However, the mourning period, especially in Catholic homes is nine days with a mass and food each day. The price of the cremation was that paid by foreigners I have known which was done at Blandino and took around 10 days to 2 weeks. Maybe they have increased their prices.

Matilda (who has been to far too many funerals here)