Ecuador..You came, you saw, you conquered! So, besides enjoyably spending the rest of one’s days in Ecuador (albeit with the occasional trip back home or a vacation to another land), eventually all of us meet our maker, regardless of our religious affiliation or life philosophy. That said, when we die, whether expected or unexpected, it is always better to leave our grieving family and friends with a ‘trail of clear instructions’, rather than a ‘secondary trail of tears’ due to a lack of clarity.
Thus, even if one believes that they will eventually leave Ecuador prior to the time of their passing, truly no one can reliably know or predict how or when they will die. And so, it is far better to conveniently and inexpensively prepare for the end of one’s days in Ecuador, rather than betting one’s luck that all will work out exactly the way one had hoped it would when their time has come (or worse, their family’s/friend’s need to pick up of the pieces following only a day or two notice of death).
That said, presented as follows, are one’s 3 primary considerations, relative to the concept of death itself, should it for any reason or under any circumstances occur here in Ecuador:
- Determine whom in your home country or here in Ecuador (family or friend), will be most capable and reliable for purposes of overseeing the process of disposing of your final remains and/or property.
- Determine if you wish to be buried or cremated here in Ecuador, including where you wish to be buried or have your ashes brought or shipped to. You can also select if you wish to have your body be donated or provided to an Ecuadorian medical school.
- Determine who here in Ecuador should inform your family in your home country of your death, so that they can expediently act on your decision(s) as per your preferences relative to #’s 1 and 2 above.
In concert with these 3 most major concerns in relation to your death occurring here in Ecuador, it is supremely important to note that regardless of whether your Ecuador end of life plan wishes are to be buried or cremated in Ecuador (or your body be donated or provided to an Ecuadorian Medical School), you absolutely MUST have your wishes stated in a document known as a Declaración Juramentada (in English this simply means a “Sworn Statement”). Naturally, this document must be written in Spanish, make proper reference to you as the Declarant, and this document must be properly formatted in conjunction with the Ecuadorian legal code, and also be signed by both yourself and an Attorney here in Ecuador. And of course, that such document must also be properly notarized here in Ecuador by an Ecuador licensed notary (this also is generally arranged by the Attorney who you contract to prepare the Declaración Juramentada for you).
As per the topic of death itself, one often finds it disconcerting to know that Living Wills, which in places like the US, generally permit one to forego or refuse extension of life processes or heroic life saving procedures (i.e. the making of “Do Not Resuscitate” [DNR] instructions), are simply not valid in Ecuador – not yet anyways.. However, naturally if one is visiting their home country and incurs such an actionable event related to a Living Will that was previously signed by them in their home country, then of course that Living Will still shall be honored while visiting their country of origin, without any conflict of law issues related to the person also being an Ecuadorian Resident or even Ecuadorian Citizen at that.
Finally, as per general Wills and Testaments in Ecuador, while that subject is fully covered in another article that I wrote for Gringo Tree in November of 2016, titled, “WILLS IN ECUADOR: DO YOU NEED ONE , I will simply restate herein this article, the following good rule of thumb with respect to same: Wills for Expats are indeed worthwhile IF an Expat has property in Ecuador – i.e. bank accounts, real estate, cash, gold/jewelry, art/collectibles, etc.
Thus, concerning end of life planning in Ecuador, it is my hope that all Expats living here continue to dedicate their lives to frolicking, touring and having a ball of a time as they immerse themselves into the Ecuadorian culture and norms. That said, during your downtime, while not exploring and tasting all that Ecuador has to offer, it would be wise to simply take an hour or so to create your own Ecuador end of life plan, at least conceptually speaking. By doing so, you will have the best and highest chance of serving your family and friends in your home country, as and how they move on into the future, by virtue of you allowing them to fondly remember as well as celebrate you and the memory of your own life, here in Ecuador itself.
9 Responses
Gosh… this is morbid; however, insightful it may be.
My thoughts exactly, up until the moment I hit “publish”. Unfortunately its a reality for a large percentage of the expat community here in Cuenca
We’re all on the same glide path. It’s just steeper for some of us. End of life planning is your last opportunity to do the right thing by your loved ones.
Since I’ve begun thinking about death as my ultimate ‘future’, I am becoming much more intentional about the ways I live now… I suspect I have around 30 years left, barring some accident, and experiencing that we all end up by eventually leaving (or returning-depending on your beliefs and customs) to ‘earth’, adds richness to every day. I think cultural messages have been wrong, or at least incomplete, about death. The conversation is good.
I had to laugh…’regardless of religion…or life philosophy” and then say “prepare to meet your Maker.”
(1) It’s OK to say D-I-E and (2) meeting a ‘Maker’ presupposes religious belief.
Also….I understand to donating our remains to a medical school is no longer an option.
Evidently the medical school uses computers vs real bodies. Scary to think of someone who has
never dealt with real flesh, blood and bone cutting into a body.
A few years ago I created an Ecuadorian will as I heard that without an Ecuadorian will, the government is entitled to a percentage of ones property. Is this still true?
Something is not clear:
A will is not valid but a declaracion juramentada it is? How come? What the person is declaring in the declaracion juramentada? How can it be still valid after the person’s death?
What is the cost of cremation ?
I feel like you missed some important aspects of “End-of-life” planning. While funeral and estate planning is important, so is palliative care, hospice care, end-of-life housing options, medical care and transportation, communication plans with family/friends in other countries, professional medical interpreters, along with countless other issues. Maybe y a health professional could supplement your information in this article.