Since there are a surprising number of old-timers here who appear to not have any plans to leave, this not so cheerful but essential topic.
How the system works: the first hours after death to internment to estate. How and where to buy your niche or burial space? Cremation in Chile? Outside the box: can ashes be spread somewhere?
Please share experiences, insights, knowledge, opinions, links, etc.
In Japan, there is a traditional poem known as “death poem”. Has anyone already composed one?.. :)))
Life is an ever-rolling wheel
And every day is the right one.
He who recites poems at his death
Adds frost to snow.
~Mumon Gensen
Died in 1390
Hi eeuunikeiexpat,
In december 2021, my good friend Tom McDonnell passed away here in Arica, and I was helping him both with the cancer treatment and his funeral.
Many kind of cancer has full insurance from the government, even if you got no healtcare if you are 65 YO or more are entitled to receive many healt services for free, and full tratment for free for all those diseases covered by Plan AUGE, if you are younger and the disease is included in AUGE you got also treatment for free and prioritary care. Tom started treating in private clinics but it was a disaster, incompetent and greedy doctors wasnt able to diagnose correctly, finally after spend lots of money a doctor friend of mine, who work in the public hospital, dignosed correctly the colon cancer and obtained all the tratment for free, home visits, all medicine for free included, etc. But cancer was very advanced and after some 4 month he died at 78 YO.
The funeral it was not complicated, in Arica there are a municipal cementery whose grave (in soil) is free for the 1st year and cost 200 mil pesos for the next 5 years, I guess is the same every 5 years after. The funerary service was about 400 mil pesos.
As soon as a person die -Tom passed away in a retirement home in which stayed only 2 weeks- advise to the hospital is needed, then they send a paramedic to check and inform to the doctor, who issue the “certificado de defunción”, then you hire a funerary service and they take charge of everything else.
Funerary business is very tricky and is advisable some survey in different places, because there are lot of con men waiting for desesperate people to cheat then. Fortunatly here in Arica we got friends for everything and one of my friend runs a funeraria, so everything was honest and easy.
Cremation is also an option here in Arica, same as in many major city in Chile, it cost ariound 1 millon 500 mil and -of course- you can spread the ashes wherever you want, there is not a problem, some good friends of mine are spread here in the city and in Pacific Ocean.
I notified to the US Embassy to stop the social security payments, just have to fill a form that they sent. And that was all, Tom spent 11 happy years here in Arica, living alone, drinking and doing what he wished, he was a great chap, one of my best friend during all those years
gracias tombrad2. As morbid as it sounds, it is probably best to plan the funeral while still alive and healthy. People who are grieving get taken advantage of so easily.