What Happens If You or Your Loved One Dies While Visiting Another State? While Overseas? On a Cruise?

What happens if you die while on vacation? How do your remains get back home? These two questions often come up as summer swiftly passes and road trips, tropical vacations, and cruise ship adventures are being planned. If you have completed your estate planning, you have the peace of mind knowing that your beneficiaries would be provided for should something happen during your trip. If you have not completed your estate planning, depending on when your trip starts (what are you waiting for?), there may still be time to get it done.

Death While on a Road Trip. If you or your loved one passes away while visiting another state, your family would need to arrange for the body or remains to be transported to the deceased's home state for a funeral or a memorial service. Everplans.com describes the process for "forwarding remains" as a costly process that funeral homes arrange that, "...usually range from $1,000.00 to $3,000.00. The fee for receiving remains from another funeral home usually ranges from $800.00 to $2,500.00. You [or your family] will likely have to pay both of these fees, in addition to any other funeral home costs." Depending on state law, the body may be required to be embalmed prior to transport. Bodies can be transported by bus, train, or cargo plane.

Death While Overseas. If you or your loved one passes away while overseas, the process of transporting the body or remains will vary greatly depending on which foreign country is involved. If the death of a U.S. citizen on foreign soil is known to the family, one of the first steps the family would take is to notify the U.S. embassy or consulate in that foreign country. If the death is not known to the family (i.e. the police in the foreign country were responsible for notifying the U.S. embassy or consulate of the death of a U.S. citizen), the Bureau of Consular Affairs will attempt to locate and notify the decedent's family. If you or a loved one passes away overseas, a foreign death certificate may be issued and if that country's native language is not English, the death certificate will need to be translated to English for it to be accepted in the United States.

Death While on a Cruise. Did you know that by law, cruise lines are required to carry body bags and maintain a functioning morgue? The morgue on a cruise ship is small but typically has room to house three to six deceased passengers. If you or a loved one passes away while onboard a cruise ship, the body may be repatriated immediately at a foreign port, or the body may stay on board for the duration of the trip. The decision on the time of repatriation would depend on where the ship is located at the time of the death.

While you or a loved one have no control over the process if you or a loved one happens to pass away far from home, there are a couple of things that you can do to make matters simpler. One, notify family or friends if you are going to be away from home for an extended period of time. It may also be a good idea to register with the U.S. embassy or consulate if you are going to be in a country for a certain period of time. This is particularly true if you or a loved one is visiting a country where the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory. Two, complete your estate plan; this is an aspect of death that you have control over. If you have an estate plan, it is suggested that you review it when a life event should occur (i.e. birth, marriage, divorce, or death) or every four to six years. If you do not have an estate plan, now is a good time to start! 

If you would like to review your estate planning documents or if you would like to do your estate plan, please call Rehberg Law Group at 206.246.8772 to schedule an appointment. Please note that it takes about six to eight weeks from the time you hire the attorney to complete the estate planning process, so please plan ahead.