How much does it cost to die in Spain?

• VIRGINIA HERNANDEZ

  @vir_hernandez

• GRACIA PABLOS (GRAPHICS)

Updated Monday,22May2023-04:19

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Although we find it difficult to talk about death (what subject is more taboo than that?), there is a widespread impression that there is no need to say out loud: that funerals, like weddings, seem too expensive to us. Although we are lucky enough not to have had to organize any. Dying is free, there would be more, but the average price of funeral services amounts to 3,739 euros on average in Spain if it is a burial or 3,617 euros if cremation is chosen, according to a study published a couple of years ago by the OCU.

Do we leave this world with an exaggerated expense? Do we know everything that implies a farewell that takes place in a tight period of 24 hours? Did you know that cremations have long surpassed traditional burials in large cities? And that there are more and more secular ceremonies? [More information: How is the typical burial in Spain]

No, don't look at the calendar. Of course, it's not November 1. But why do you have to have a date to talk about something so everyday and so little commented on as death.

"In the end, a funeral service is still a reflection of how society evolves and, as a result of the pandemic, the enormous human work that must be developed in our sector was revealed," explains Francisco Enríquez, vice president of the employers' association, the National Association of Funeral Services (Panasef), and in the business in Córdoba for three generations.

"My house was on top of the funeral home, so as a kid I played next door," he adds of the tradition that began with his grandfather.

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"Our main challenge is that when we ask on the street what a funeral service is, people don't answer that it's just burying the dead. Because it is infinitely more. The infrastructure, the coordination between different departments, the administrative procedures... It simplifies our work a lot because nobody wants to talk about death. In Spain we work in this sector about 12,000 people and there are about 450,000 services a year, "he details.

Francisco Enríquez divides funeral services into four areas: the most functional part, which are the services provided from collection to the final destination of the body; Mortuary health ("we like to say that we are the last link in the health chain, as has been evident with COVID"), which includes psychological care for family members; the social act that involves the wake ("there is more and more flight from the dark and the funeral homes already look like hotels") and the part of remembrance and honor of the deceased, with ceremonies and reminders increasingly digital.

"All this has to be done within 24 hours of death, so our infrastructures and our staff have to be oversized to be able to face it," says Enríquez. "For each deceased, at least nine people from the team are needed. There are days when there are only four services and others when there are 20. You can't say, 'Die that day, the quietest thing will be.'"

The minimum necessary

GRACE PABLOS

1. Collect the body from the place of death.

2. Hygienic-sanitary treatment.

[about 100 euros without aesthetic or conservation treatments]

3. Place the body in the coffin.

4. Transport to final destination.

[Around 700 euros: covers the rental of the hearse (about 200 euros) and the price per kilometer. A short tour (from the place of the deceased to the morgue and from this to the cemetery or crematorium in the same city)]

5. Burial or cremation.

[700 euros, without grave, tombstone or columbarium]

A funeral home and farewell ceremony are dispensed with. The wake itself carries extras (book, flowers, catering ...) and, since the coffin is not going to be shown, you can choose the most economical.

According to the comparator Funos, it is a modality that few people still choose, but it is growing and has skyrocketed due to the pandemic.

In the same way, they remember that it is possible to make the wake at home or in the church (it is not obligatory to resort to a funeral home), as it was done in the past.

For this you must inform the funeral home, which will take care of the appropriate logistics (they will give you the body after the correct treatment and will take care of its subsequent transfer to the place of the ceremony and / or final destination).

"Social and psychological work"

Fernando Alcón is a thanatopractor (the professionals who are responsible for preparing the dead for the wake) and professor of this discipline for more than 20 years. She studied nursing, but eventually decided to continue with the business of a relative who was about to retire. "My training made it easier for me to do some minor surgery jobs that can be applied to our field."

Alcón also chairs the Spanish Association of Funeral Services Professionals (Aesprof), which brings together professionals from different fields, from cremation staff to those in charge of cleaning or maintaining cemeteries.

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"We do social and psychological work for families. They take a pleasant memory of a hard time by offering them a dignified farewell, "says Alcón. In the case of the preparation of the corpses, his trade, he believes that "being able to see the loved one almost as when he was alive gives the emotional support to be able to assume the mourning."

Something that, he points out, was missing in the worst moments of the pandemic: "How many doubts arose because of not having been able to see the body and distrusting if the ashes they gave you were those of your relative."

"In this sector there are professionals who get involved and do everything to serve families, which is what is most appreciated. The personal treatment is the most important thing, not the box or the mercedes, which seems to be what people think of when talking about funeral services, "he says.

They also think about the price, that shared opinion that dying is expensive. About half of Spaniards have death insurance, according to the latest report from the funeral home comparator Funos. A tradition that in many cases encourages newborn children to be included in the family policy.

"Death insurance works very well because the person who hires it is taking away the dead, never better said, to the one who comes behind," says Jesús Pozo, director of the magazine 'Adiós', dedicated to reflecting on death from culture and art. "If not, family members have to pay for a product they're crying over."

The leading companies in this sector are Santalucía (31% of the market, according to a study prepared by INESE Data), Ocaso (18%) and Mapfre (11%), which also have participation in funeral homes and funeral homes. [Here you can read another report from this special about these companies]

"Depending on the policy you have, throughout life you can end up paying for the funeral several times, although it is true that they are responsible for organizing everything," says Marc Vallhonesta, founder of the funeral comparator. The insurers, recalls Jesús Pozo, must return the money of the contracted services that have not been used. "If for whatever reason they do not do it, you have to claim it," he advises.

Vallhonesta had read many complaints about the prices of funeral services and saw a business opportunity for those who do not have these policies contracted. Funos started in autumn 2021 only in Catalonia and already works in 35 provinces. "In the pandemic many people needed to hire an online service and I thought it was time to offer transparent, objective and independent information to decide what they really want."

"The lack of competition means that people are not informed and in the end they pay more expensive prices than the account. There are options to make it cheaper, because people are also changing their way of seeing this farewell and do not want so much pomp, "he explains.

"

What is not dispensed with is a ceremony, whether religious or secular, "says Vallhonesta. "In the end it's the moment you say goodbye. It is no longer so much a sad act, of mourning, as it was before, as remembering those moments we have lived with that person."

And what happens if you don't have money to pay for burial? According to the Civil Code, family members are obliged to pay the expenses, even if the deceased has not left an inheritance. If any, these expenses will be paid out of the deceased's assets and the heirs may deduct them from inheritance tax. If the relatives show that they do not have enough resources to take care of the burial, the City Council will bear the expenses. Another possibility is to donate the body for research.

Expensive? Not as much as we thought? If you haven't already, go up again and check the costs of each step of the process in our interactive tool. It will help you decide on one or the other option.

The paperwork of death

GRACE PABLOS

1. Death certificate: Issued by a doctor and attesting to the death of the person. If the death occurs outside the health field, which would be a hospital or a geriatric residence, we must acquire the official stamped form issued by the General Council of Official Medical Colleges, for sale in pharmacies.

The issuance of the certificate is always free of charge, but the doctor may charge fees for the act consisting of the examination of the body and the medical verification of the fact of death and its cause.

2. Registration of the death: The death certificate must be presented at the Civil Registry of the deceased's home, within 24 hours of the death. It will be accompanied by the ID or passport of the deceased and official form. The registration of death is considered legally urgent and they are able every day and hour of the year to practice it.

It must be registered by relatives or persons living with the deceased person or, failing that, by neighbours. If it occurs away from home, in addition to relatives, the head of the establishment where the death occurs or the competent authority would be obliged.

Once the death has been registered, the burial licence will be issued. It is advisable to request more than one death certificate as they will be necessary for various subsequent procedures.

This management will be handled by the insurance company of the deceased or the funeral home in case of hiring their services. Registration is free.

3. Certificate of Last Wills: It must be requested once 15 working days have elapsed from the date of death. This document proves whether the person has died by granting a will or not (in which case the legal heirs must process a Declaration of Heirs file).

It is an essential document for any hereditary succession, and can be requested digitally, in person or by mail.

To request it, you must fill out form 790, which can be downloaded digitally from the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice (with digital certificate) or requested in person at the Territorial Management of the Ministry of Justice or at the Central Office of Citizen Services of the Ministry of Justice.

We must accompany it with the literal Death Certificate (where the names of the parents of the deceased appear) and the proof of payment of the fee.

4. Certificate of insurance contracts of coverage for deceased: To know if the deceased person had any life or accident insurance. This procedure can be done electronically or in person, in the same way and in the same place as the certificate of last wills (with the same form).

It also serves to check if the deceased had other life insurance that is sometimes done for free (subscribed by the company for which he worked, banks, loans, credit cards, etc.) that could cover some debts, depending on the case.

5. Award or waiver of inheritance

6. Taxes: Within six months from the date of death

to. Inheritance tax: it must be presented even if the deceased has no rights or assets to transmit.

b. Tax on the increase of Urban Assets: in case of receiving real estate, it is the municipal capital gain.

c. Personal income tax return of the deceased person, to be submitted in the corresponding period in the event that due to their income they were obliged to do so or, if, although they did not have to present it, they were entitled to a refund.

7. Pensions (widowhood or orphanhood): they are requested in Social Security, it can be done from any moment since death, but the sooner the better. If you apply after three months you may lose part of the pension, since it will only be paid with a maximum retroactivity of three months to the date of application.

8. Death grant: If the deceased person was registered with Social Security, or was a beneficiary of a retirement pension or permanent disability, the relatives who took care of the expenses of their funeral can request death assistance, in the five years following the date of death.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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