Death of family member in Thailand

[redkite]

Hi all. Looking for some insight. Will try make this short. Sorry if this was posted in the wrong place.

 

My British dad passed away recently and, as his next of kin, all responsibilities for everything go to me. There is nothing in his Thai bank account (unable to check his UK one, unsure if contacting them will jumpstart probate which I am too overwhelmed to get to yet, also unsure if it is wise to try withdraw anything) so all of this is coming out of my pocket.

 

His body is now in Bangkok, mum and I are situated in the North East. The funeral will probably be near Pattaya. I could leave him to be buried in a “pauper’s mass funeral”, but I don’t know anything about it and it would personally weigh on my conscience to do that. (Any info on this would be great.)

 

Therefore I’d like any recent knowledge of affordable temples, either just the cremation or an estimate on how much each option should typically cost? If I can make it a little nice then I will, we don’t need anything too extra like 3-5-7 days if that raises the cost too much. I’m open to alternatives, like other locations, or maybe even medical donation instead? What would be the process of that? (any resources, links, recommendations, numbers?)  Any information at all for any of these things would be very helpful. 

 

He’s stated before he doesn’t want anything special, but he is my dad and this kind of thing only happens once, so for myself I'd like to do a little more than just leave it. With all the things I have to be responsible for, it’s proving to be difficult to get all the info I need on my own for this, so I appreciate anything sent my way. 

 

Thank you very much for your time. Cheers.

[soi3eddie]

Maybe someone else here has first hand experience on this. If I was you I would contact the British consulate in Bangkok. They can advise you on procedures and put you in contact with authorities here (if you are not already). I think you need to come to Thailand and conduct your duty (as no one else appears to be inline to do so). You can then arrange things and get paperwork in order. Get the required certificates etc. and deal with finances after the ceremonial rites of cremation and scattering or repatriation of ashes as you wish. Sad for you loss and hope this helps.

 

Edited January 31 by soi3eddie

[lopburi3]

Below are costs of 4 funeral homes from US Embassy - believe most local cremations total costs locally are in the 30-40k baht range including all paperwork.

 

• Amar International (PDF 706KB)
• AsiaOne (PDF 1MB)
• EverCare (PDF 446KB)
• Siam Funeral Co., LTD (PDF 1MB)

[Georgealbert]

Sorry for your loss.

 

Have you looked at the embassy guidance, it may help answer a few questions.

 

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

 

If his body is in Bangkok, it has gone for an autopsy.
 

You need to get a consular letter from the UK embassy, which is for the NOK (next of kin) or to someone nominated by NOK, to have the hospital to release his body. This can be done by email. Recent example below, I have blocked personal details.
 

You will also need to get a police report for both the hospital and the amphur, to register the death and get the death certificate. Death certificate is required by temple for cremation.

 

The hospital in Bangkok, I expect it is the police hospital, will charge you for the autopsy, transport of the body if you don’t do yourself, coffin if you do not provide one and storage of the body by the day. If the body is not claimed in 30 days, the hospital may contact the embassy for a pauper cremation.

 

Cremation costs in Pattaya vary from temple to temple. Costs can be keep down by having the cremation the same his body is transported from the hospital. After cremation you can collect his ashes.

 

Sorry have no experience of medical donation.

Edited January 31 by Georgealbert

[redkite]

Hi, thanks all for the time responding. I realise I have worded some things poorly. I also live in Thailand("North East"), I have the consular letter, and am lost on what comes after I find a way to hand it in.

 

It will be done locally, and I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience/knowledge on cremations(or body donation) in the past few years, as I know there are different things you can ask for and want to keep track of things. I was told the 30 days of storage are free. I'll check to be sure though. I was aware of the transport fees, but not the coffin. Will keep note. 

 

Thanks again. 

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, soi3eddie said:

I think you need to come to Thailand

He is here.

[soi3eddie]

19 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

He is here.

Thanks for your input @Liverpool Lou he simply said "North East" so it was unclear which country. But thanks anyway as always. So, in this case he needs to go to the relevant places regarding his father's body, cremation and to sort his father's affairs.

 

Edited January 31 by soi3eddie

[Liverpool Lou]

6 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

25 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

He is here.

Thanks for your input @Liverpool Lou he simply said "North East" so it was unclear which country.

Thanks for your input that gave no more advice than to contact the embassy.  From his the context of his OP it is fairly obvious that he was referring to N.E. Thailand...

"His body is now in Bangkok, mum and I are situated in the North East. The funeral will probably be near Pattaya".

[jvs]

We went thru this just two weeks ago.

All of the cost in the Temple were just under 18000 baht.

You have to tell them you want as little as possible.

You can rent the flowers.

Four monks will do.

Next day 8 monks.

We gave the rescue people 3000 baht for the transport.

 

[soi3eddie]

31 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Thanks for your input that gave no more advice than to contact the embassy.  From his the context of his OP it is fairly obvious that he was referring to N.E. Thailand...

"His body is now in Bangkok, mum and I are situated in the North East. The funeral will probably be near Pattaya".

 

And how was your reply or input of any help to the OP at all?

 

[Georgealbert]

7 hours ago, redkite said:

Hi, thanks all for the time responding. I realise I have worded some things poorly. I also live in Thailand("North East"), I have the consular letter, and am lost on what comes after I find a way to hand it in.

 

It will be done locally, and I was wondering if anyone had any personal experience/knowledge on cremations(or body donation) in the past few years, as I know there are different things you can ask for and want to keep track of things. I was told the 30 days of storage are free. I'll check to be sure though. I was aware of the transport fees, but not the coffin. Will keep note. 

 

Thanks again. 

To keep the temple costs to a minimum, try to avoid having his body at the temple overnight. Book the cremation and undertaker for the same day as transport from the hospital. Remember the temple will want a death certificate from the amphur, where you register the death. Ask for the minimum at the temple, as suggested by @jvs.

 

Do you or did your father have any friends in Pattaya, that can visit a few temples to get a price, as they do vary.

 

Take the consular letter and police report, from where he died, to the Bangkok hospital, to have the body released. A coffin from the hospital is normally about 5000 baht up, depending what you choose. I have never seen the 30 days storage being free, and have seen people charged between 200 and 400 baht per day, depending on the hospital.

 

Below are 2 links to body donation in Bangkok, but reading through the conditions, seems first link says the deceased  must have been under 65 years old, second link says body donated not more than 24 hours after death. Contact them and they may be able to help or advise you.

 

https://chulalongkornhospital.go.th/kcmh/en/body-and-organ-donations/

 

https://anatomy.sc.mahidol.ac.th/old/bodydonation.htm

[redkite]

11 hours ago, jvs said:

We went thru this just two weeks ago.

All of the cost in the Temple were just under 18000 baht.

You have to tell them you want as little as possible.

You can rent the flowers.

Four monks will do.

Next day 8 monks.

We gave the rescue people 3000 baht for the transport.

 

This is exactly along the lines of what I was hoping to find, thank you. Where does one rent the flowers from? The temple itself or outside? It sounds it lasted for more than one day. Did you have to pay for the coffin alongside the transport? Sorry you went through that and thanks for sharing your experience. Will keep all of this in mind.

 

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

To keep the temple costs to a minimum, try to avoid having his body at the temple overnight. Book the cremation and undertaker for the same day as transport from the hospital. Remember the temple will want a death certificate from the amphur, where you register the death. Ask for the minimum at the temple, as suggested by @jvs.

 

Do you or did your father have any friends in Pattaya, that can visit a few temples to get a price, as they do vary.

 

Take the consular letter and police report, from where he died, to the Bangkok hospital, to have the body released. A coffin from the hospital is normally about 5000 baht up, depending what you choose. I have never seen the 30 days storage being free, and have seen people charged between 200 and 400 baht per day, depending on the hospital.

 

Below are 2 links to body donation in Bangkok, but reading through the conditions, seems first link says the deceased  must have been under 65 years old, second link says body donated not more than 24 hours after death. Contact them and they may be able to help or advise you.

 

https://chulalongkornhospital.go.th/kcmh/en/body-and-organ-donations/

 

https://anatomy.sc.mahidol.ac.th/old/bodydonation.htm

The death certificate was the paper provided by the police station that was needed for the consular letter, right? Travelling to Bangkok will be the hard part. Not sure who I can authorise or nominate to take it there instead either. Are there any services that do that?

 

If I call the police hospital to ask them things, will they take it as me claiming the body and charge me for anything straight away? I assume they will ask for cash when they get to see you in person rather than an invoice. Appreciate the cost estimates.

 

Sadly we dont have those kinds of friends, which is why I was hoping to hear of any experiences here. Thank you for the donation links. Will see if they have any guidance. 

[jvs]

1 hour ago, redkite said:

This is exactly along the lines of what I was hoping to find, thank you. Where does one rent the flowers from? The temple itself or outside? It sounds it lasted for more than one day. Did you have to pay for the coffin alongside the transport? Sorry you went through that and thanks for sharing your experience. Will keep all of this in mind.

 

The death certificate was the paper provided by the police station that was needed for the consular letter, right? Travelling to Bangkok will be the hard part. Not sure who I can authorise or nominate to take it there instead either. Are there any services that do that?

 

If I call the police hospital to ask them things, will they take it as me claiming the body and charge me for anything straight away? I assume they will ask for cash when they get to see you in person rather than an invoice. Appreciate the cost estimates.

 

Sadly we dont have those kinds of friends, which is why I was hoping to hear of any experiences here. Thank you for the donation links. Will see if they have any guidance. 

If you talk to some one in the Temple they will have the contact where to get the flowers and the coffin.

We made copies of all the papers and send them by email to the Embassy.

You will need the official death certificate from the embassy before you can pick up the body.With this paper you go to the Tessabahn and they will give the paper to give to the Temple.

You will also need a Covid free certificate but that was done automatically by the hospital.

The body arrived in the Temple in the morning and only stayed one night,the next day was the cremation.

People will try to get you to spend more money but just do it the way you want it.

 

Edited February 1 by jvs

[Georgealbert]

1 hour ago, redkite said:

 

 

The death certificate was the paper provided by the police station that was needed for the consular letter, right? Traveling to Bangkok will be the hard part. Not sure who I can authorize or nominate to take it there instead either. Are there any services that do that?

 

If I call the police hospital to ask them things, will they take it as me claiming the body and charge me for anything straight away? I assume they will ask for cash when they get to see you in person rather than an invoice. Appreciate the cost estimates.

 

Sadly we dont have those kinds of friends, which is why I was hoping to hear of any experiences here. Thank you for the donation links. Will see if they have any guidance. 

The death certificate is issued by the amphur. You normally get a police letter to show at the amphur office and the death is registered and certificate issued. I have found the temple wants a copy of this for a cremation.I have attached below a example of a death certificate, I found online.

 

If you get someone to collect the body for you, I believe that they will need to named in the consular latter, showing they are authorised to collect his body. The last time I collected a body from Bangkok Police Hospital, I was named on the UK embassy consular release letter, as I was not the NOK.

 

I really think you should consider, in your circumstance, using a funeral director to arrange and sort everything, it may seem more expensive, but will save you all the running around.@ lopburi3 posted a good link to some funeral directors yesterday or you can use the uk embassy link to find one.

 

https://find-a-professional-service-abroad.service.csd.fcdo.gov.uk/find/funeral-directors?country=Thailand

 

 

Edited February 1 by Georgealbert

[bbko]

I've spoken with my Thai wife about when I pass and according to her, prices (donations) will vary from temple to temple and how much of ceremony the family wants.

Here's a AseanNow thread with more input;

 

[JimTripper]

I would not touch the bank accounts. In my country a court does a probate and if they see any withdrawls after the date and time on the death certificate they know.

 

A court clerk also searches for any possible unknown relatives and also creditors have a certain period of time to come forth with anounts due.

[Liverpool Lou]

15 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

And how was your reply or input of any help to the OP at all?

 

I didn't claim that it was, I was trying to help you!  And who made you the arbiter of post content here, anyway?

[CMBob]

23 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

....If his body is in Bangkok, it has gone for an autopsy.
 

Yes, sorry for your loss.

 

Absent a request by the family or the police being concerned about cause of death, there will be no autopsy.  

[bhatmasterson]

A close friend's mom passed away right after she got off a plan from the US. The people at the airport handled everything. Body to hospital, all the necessary paperwork, transfer the body to Chiang Mai. My wife and I found a temple for them and everything was accomplished for right around 65000 baht.  There are companies that will handle all for you. The comment about not staying at the Wat overnight is a good one. Also, if you don't have a lot of friends coming don't get a waiting room. Just go from transport van to the crematorium.

[Georgealbert]

8 hours ago, CMBob said:

Yes, sorry for your loss.

 

Absent a request by the family or the police being concerned about cause of death, there will be no autopsy.  

Yes fully agree with you.

 

I assumed that the body had been transported/moved from another area to Bangkok, from reading the original post , so the police seemed to have requested an autopsy.

 

” His body is now in Bangkok, mum and I are situated in the North East. The funeral will probably be near Pattaya” 

Edited February 1 by Georgealbert

[lopburi3]

12 hours ago, CMBob said:

Yes, sorry for your loss.

 

Absent a request by the family or the police being concerned about cause of death, there will be no autopsy.  

Not in my understanding - if death not in hospital autopsy is normal.  Edit:  believe this will be by police request so above right in that respect.

 

Quote

Post-mortems are normally required in Thailand following the death of a non-Thai national. Exceptions may apply if the death occurred in a hospital unless the cause of death is unknown, unnatural, sudden or violent. Post-mortems are carried out by forensic doctors.Sep 15, 2023

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-do-after-a-british-person-dies-in-thailand#:~:text=Post-mortems are normally required,carried out by forensic doctors.

Edited February 2 by lopburi3

[prakhonchai nick]

On 1/31/2024 at 9:55 PM, jvs said:

We went thru this just two weeks ago.

All of the cost in the Temple were just under 18000 baht.

You have to tell them you want as little as possible.

You can rent the flowers.

Four monks will do.

Next day 8 monks.

We gave the rescue people 3000 baht for the transport.

 

What about NO MONKS?  Can the temple just cremate?

Edited February 2 by prakhonchai nick

[prakhonchai nick]

I've been to a couple of Thai cremations..................bonfire on waste land!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jvs]

43 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

What about NO MONKS?  Can the temple just cremate?

I am not sure about that but i would imagine it is possible but the cost is not that high over here,300

baht per monk.

No monks would certainly be frowned upon by Thai people i think.