Yup. Serious stuff. The kind of post you don’t find here usually.

But if you move here, you may die here. If you’re vacationing, you probably will have your body shipped back to the old country.

In the U.S. funeral planning goes something like this:

The first thing you need to think about is whether you are going to be buried or cremated. This is a matter of personal preference, and it may be the case you already have a firm idea one way or the other. Deciding whether to be buried or cremated will influence whether you need to procure a casket or an urn, respectively. American Cremation & Casket Alliance has a range of options for both choices. This is something you can arrange and even pay for during your lifetime, along with a range of other funeral home services.

And everybody recommends planning all this stuff in advance.

Same goes for dying in Costa Rica. You better think about it and let your family in the U.S. and friends in Costa Rica know what you desire.

This is especially important if you want your body shipped back to the old country for your final retirement.

When someone dies in Costa Rica, the burial is often within hours of death, and seldom more than 24 hours later.  Embalming is not the standard order of the day. Embalming delays decomposition. No embalming and your body won’t last long in the tropical climate!

Running in tandem with the need to prepare your funeral arrangements is the will. If you have a U.S. will, you will also need a Costa Rica will.

The probate procedure here is long and arduous and there are a whole group a bad guys who watch the obituaries every day then file fraudulent claims for land and other property.  A popular pastime is actually doing this in anticipation of a person’s death!

It ain’t fun, but if you’re living in Costa Rica and your family is in the old country, you better think about it.