Procedures upon death of ex-pat

[tassydevil]

Could members advise me of the procedures to be followed upon the passing of an ex-pat, 

I would like to start schooling my partner as to what to expect and what course to follow after my eventual demise.

many thanks .

[orchis]

1- contact consular section of your country's embassy, preferably with your passport in hand.

[proton]

Good luck with that, many Thais just will not talk about death or what to do. Write it out when you have it all, death cert then contacting the embassy first I would think, then the wills

[poppysdad]

I have given my Thai wife a letter detailing who to contact both here and back in the uk. Where everything is and what else she needs to do. 
She wasn’t happy to talk about it but was quite happy to accept the letter laying out what she needs to do. 

[KannikaP]

42 minutes ago, orchis said:

1- contact consular section of your country's embassy, preferably with your passport in hand.

What, me or the Mrs? I am dead.

[ThailandRyan]

8 minutes ago, poppysdad said:

I have given my Thai wife a letter detailing who to contact both here and back in the uk. Where everything is and what else she needs to do. 
She wasn’t happy to talk about it but was quite happy to accept the letter laying out what she needs to do. 

Where did she put the paper? I did the same with my now ex-wife, I had emergency neck surgery and reminded her of all the instructions she needed should something happen to me were in the letter I had given her.  She told me she threw it away as I was not dead and she didn't need instructions on what was needed.... 

Edited April 3, 2023 by ThailandRyan

[orchis]

57 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

What, me or the Mrs? I am dead

very clever you are.

[ezzra]

Start with a good, easy to follow last will and testement, leave a copy with your partner and another with a trusted mate/neighbour if you have one jus in case.

[brianthainess]

Its whole poo fight.  Your body is sent to BKK police forensic hospital by local police who liaise with the doctor after they pronounce death. the police inform your embassy who will inform your next of kin.

Now it depends on where you want to be buried/cremated. After that the death certificate must be obtained from the FPH and brought to the Amphur where you died to register your death, only then can your body be released.

Then it depends where the funeral will take place, one had to arrange for the body to be transported to your favored place of the ceremony.

   *OR right from the time of death, contact a funeral director, recommended by by your Embassy to do all of the work, I can't recommend anything better. 'Asia-one'  were the directors that we used for my friend, and they were very helpful in everyway.   

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by brianthainess

[Mike Teavee]

6 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

Where did she put the paper?

Could use a time delayed email (say 1 week, which you would move forward by 1 week each week until you couldn’t) to store the information that way it’s easy to change if anything needs updating (including who should receive the instructions) 

 

For GMail… https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/04/google-death-a-tool-to-take-care-of-your-gmail-when-youre-gone/274934/

 

Outlook… https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/delay-or-schedule-sending-email-messages-026af69f-c287-490a-a72f-6c65793744ba

[Sheryl]

The Embassy will not release your body until next of kin are notified. If you are married to your partner then this is fairly easy. If you are not (and not willing to marry her now) then someone else will have to be fund, informed, and agree to the  release of the body so give this some thought...and consider who that would be and make sure your partner has those contact details.

 

Many Embassies have specific forms for next of kin to fill out, and some also have registration systems where you can list such information so check your Embassy website.

[KannikaP]

25 minutes ago, orchis said:

very clever you are.

No, logical!

[Woof999]

40 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

What, me or the Mrs? I am dead.

7 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

No, logical!

Far from it. The post is about what the OP's wife should do on the death of the OP.

 

Logic, common sense and intelligence would all suggest the comment you replied to was referencing the OP's wife having the OP's passport in hand.

 

Perhaps you meant pedantic?

[KannikaP]

Just now, Woof999 said:

Far from it. The post is about what the OP's wife should do on the death of the OP.

 

Logic, common sense and intelligence would all suggest the comment you replied to was referencing the OP's wife having the OP's passport in hand.

 

Perhaps you meant pedantic?

OK, whatever. But orchis said '1- contact consular section of your country's embassy, preferably with your passport in hand, referring to the OP, who is the one who is deceased. Yep, pedantic if not logical.

[Woof999]

3 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

OK, whatever. But orchis said '1- contact consular section of your country's embassy, preferably with your passport in hand, referring to the OP, who is the one who is deceased. Yep, pedantic if not logical.

It is the consular section on HIS country's embassy, with HIS passport in hand that HIS wife needs to contact, according to the poster's advice.

[KannikaP]

Just now, Woof999 said:

It is the consular section on HIS country's embassy, with HIS passport in hand that HIS wife needs to contact, according to the poster's advice.

Then why did he say that in the first place and make things clear.

Or is it the Wokers, using YOUR instead of HIS?   555

[Menken]

I would like to revive this thread because I don't think that anything was really resolved conclusively it comes up often and I'm interested.

 

 

I have an additional question.

 

What if the US or really any country expatriate has no heirs and no assets in the United States. The widow has no citizenship. Even with a green card presumably she does not want to return that can be left to expire as well.

 

Why then would it be important to notify the US embassy?

Edited April 16, 2023 by Menken

[Menken]

On 4/3/2023 at 10:47 AM, Woof999 said:

It is the consular section on HIS country's embassy, with HIS passport in hand that HIS wife needs to contact, according to the poster's advice.

Assuming there are no assets in the United States and no heirs Why? Why would the wife have to contact the United States? You finnit

Edited April 16, 2023 by Menken

[Menken]

On 4/3/2023 at 10:09 AM, Sheryl said:

The Embassy will not release your body until next of kin are notified. If you are married to your partner then this is fairly easy.

I had commented on a previous post and I'm sorry I just missed this I believe you've answered my question.. or not ????

 

So, can my body be released to my wife without the involvement of the embassy?

 

If not, what would happen if they just let me rot? I'm sort of thinking that they would find a way to release my body then again it might just become another left body and become incinerated with all the others left behind.

 

Do you think that they would at that point bill my wife for the time my body is in the morgue? If so, how much could that even be at the most? Even for a foreigner 30,000 b

 

I'm dead serious. Pun intended.. but I'm serious ????

Edited April 16, 2023 by Menken

[Woof999]

1 hour ago, Menken said:

Assuming there are no assets in the United States and no heirs Why? Why would the wife have to contact the United States? You finnit

I don't finnit. I was clarifying what another poster wrote. It wasn't my advice.

[Menken]

1 minute ago, Woof999 said:

I don't finnit. I was clarifying what another poster wrote. It wasn't my advice.

Lol, sorry. I think you'd misunderstood. Sorry for confusion.

 

I was just positing the question generally and used your response to ask a related question.

[Woof999]

Just now, Menken said:

Lol, sorry. I think you'd misunderstood. Sorry for confusion.

 

I was just positing the question generally and used your response to ask a related question.

No worries, all good. I think it might be prudent to do it anyway. There may be assets she's not aware of or relatives / heirs he never mentioned. It seems the right thing to do (for me) even if not absolutely necessary.

[Sheryl]

5 hours ago, Menken said:

I had commented on a previous post and I'm sorry I just missed this I believe you've answered my question.. or not ????

 

So, can my body be released to my wife without the involvement of the embassy?

 

If not, what would happen if they just let me rot? I'm sort of thinking that they would find a way to release my body then again it might just become another left body and become incinerated with all the others left behind.

 

Do you think that they would at that point bill my wife for the time my body is in the morgue? If so, how much could that even be at the most? Even for a foreigner 30,000 b

 

I'm dead serious. Pun intended.. but I'm serious ????

NO.

 

The Embassy has to authorize release of the body. This rule is in place to ensure that next of kin are notified. Nothing whatsoever to do with assets etc. (They also likley inform Social Security).

 

Not sure why this disturbs you so much - it really is not difficult or a big deal. A phone call to the Embassy (hospital or police will call, or your wife or a friend could) and your wife fills out the next of kin form and sends it to them. Upon receipt of this, the  Embassy calls the hospital and authorizes release.

 

You can download the form in advance and give it to your wife.

 

https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/death-of-a-u-s-citizen/

click on "Affadavit of Next of Kin"

 

 

[proton]

what happens if you have no next of kin (I dont have) and are not married?

[JayClay]

On 4/3/2023 at 4:49 AM, KannikaP said:

Then why did he say that in the first place and make things clear.

What should my wife do?

 

"[She should] contact consular section of your country's embassy, preferably with your passport in hand."

 

There is nothing confusing about that.

[JayClay]

18 hours ago, proton said:

what happens if you have no next of kin (I dont have) and are not married?

I guess there's not much to worry about. Unless you have specific wishes for the way your body is delt with after you go, just let whoever finds you sort it out.

[sandyf]

18 hours ago, proton said:

what happens if you have no next of kin (I dont have) and are not married?

Each embassy should have their own guidance,  for Brits it can be found here.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-after-a-british-person-dies-in-thailand

[khaepmu]

My limited understanding is that, in the event of my death, my Thai wife informs the village headman (we live in a small village upcountry) and someone from the local hospital who exams the body and signs a document confirming the death. Don't know about autopsies unless there are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. I never heard about the requirement of the body having to be sent to Bangkok.  The body is then sent to the local hospital and a death certificate is issued. My Thai wife makes arrangements at the local temple for the cremation. She then takes the death certificate with the will to the courthouse and makes her claim for any assets I have left her. She then gets the death certificate translated into English and goes the the US Embassy with other appropriate documents (which she has) to initiate the transfer of any assets I left to her that are in the States. My wife is my only next of kin in Thailand. I have a few brothers in the States and she would call them and inform them of my death. 

 

But apparently, this is all too simple and the procedures outlined by the US embassy have to be followed. I am wondering what would happen if I was unaware of the US Embassy's required procedures and my wife was unaware as well. Would the Thai hospital and police  know about the body having to be sent to Bangkok.