Living and Dying in Mexico with a Proper Will....KUDOS to DR. LEON

A friend of mine and wife Debbie left us yesterday on his terms. Sad story, however growing more common. Wife took him dinner yesterday, and he enjoyed Spiral cut honey baked ham, stuffing, usual vegies.....she left @ 2:30 PM. Called him @ 5 PM...no answer, called again at 7:30 PM....Police answered, Gardner discovered him....prescription OD. Fortunately he had a Mexican will, and she was identified as executor. Amazingly, the records were known to the Coroner. Deb spent 5 hours @ the residence waiting for remains removal, etc., Questions from police, etc.

Deb called Dr. Leon, @ 11:00 PM, and he graciously took the questions, and provided answers regarding our friend....his patient! With all that has happened wife is understandably a wreck, as the 1st attempt failed 2 years ago....this time he succeeded, and is in a better place.

Now the point of this thread, having a Mexican will has allowed us to work to insure his last wishes are met. Without the authority to act, God only knows how much red tape would be involved. Fortunately his attorney has also been helpful. All this on the eve of New Years!

JimW - We are so, so sorry to hear of your friends passing.

Thank you for the excellent post for those who don't have a Mexican will.

IT is ABSOLUTELY necessary to have a Mexican will and be connected to a Doctor who will come out right away. When my Cousin died, Dr. Rodriguez was there in 15 minutes.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I still have to get a will made but with upheavals in the family I'm at a loss as to what to leave to whom but I will do it in the new year.

Thank You John, didn't go into a lot of detail, but he feared getting ousted from MX, after 18 years here. His income was only $800.00 per month owned no property. At 75 felt he couldn't relocate to US and have a life style anywhere near what he had here. Not to mention diagnosed with Leukemia last week. Treatment cost was $2000.00 USD X 6...12K....would have taken 25% of his savings. I told him I would add him to my FM as a dependent....he made the decision ....wrong sadly...one of my fondest memories of Bob, after moving here....he always had a 50# Bag of milk bones in his car, and went out of his way to give them to every dog he saw.

He wasn't family, however, a person I met while hauling my dad's clubs around the golf course....57 years ago!

Carry Bean wrote:I'm so sorry for your loss. I still have to get a will made but with upheavals in the family I'm at a loss as to what to leave to whom but I will do it in the new year.

Carry Bean, Family issues suck! Bob, gave most to Cruz Rojo, and an orphanage. Fortunately, he designated Debbie, so she can act on his behalf.

UPDATE: Even with a Mexican Will, properly written and filed by the Notario, it can take 6 months or more to dispense monies and transfer assets of the estate. Fortunately, Intercasa, aka Spencer, helped us out with the funeral issue. The mortuary agreed to accept payment when estate funds are made available. For whatever reason, the executor can't access funds and settle debts, pay for funeral expenses etc.

Spencer, can you shed some light on this issue? Thanks again, Jim W

September is "wills month" when you can have a Mexican will created by the notarios for half price.
Be kind to your survivors....don't die without one.

An interesting thread. We have Mexican wills but they only address the property issues and quite simply. If we should die simultaneously, there is no provision for disposal of our remains nor would anyone locally know where to find our wills anyway. Of course, we would be dead and not giving a damn but this brings up an interesting point. What measures have others taken to ensure disposal of remains and any assets left behind? Perhaps it is time to consider these matters.

This brings up the issue of probate in Mexico considering assets here, in the U.S. or, in our case, France. Is there a period in Mexico during which one´s assets may be frozen after a spouse has died? If so, would it not be wise to have some living expenses in the form of cash hidden away to cover living expenses could be covered in the interim?

This could be valuable old fart information.

Thanks for bringing up an unpleasant but necessary issue.

When we first made a Mexican will, we were advised to have a trusted family member or other person we felt qualified to do so, named as executor. Of course, "trusted person" may get greedy and family members go for each others' throats for money. Happens everywhere. Can't be helped.

Then, you make sure the Executor knows where to find the will and other important papers.

Then there's the matter of title......as in vehicle. The word "or" rather than "and" can make a big difference.

Finally, should both a husband and wife die simultaneously, as in an accident, and no heirs remain, we were told to select a charity or other cause to receive the estate.

The Dawg is right about figuring our how to have "instant cash" if needed.

Let's hope an expert weighs in on the matter of freezing assets.

Fortunately, We had a copy of the will, and there was a copy @ our friends home, and apparently the properly filed will was known to the authorities within hours. Unfortunately the policia semi trahed the place, and there wasn't a single peso to be found, and his wallet was empty. They confiscated his litle bong and MJ. This whole ordeal has turned into a PIA.

I can't imagine how difficult this would be without a will in Mexico.

It is customary in France to head for thr ATM and get as much cash as possible from the machine before reporting a death but for most of us that is limited to $10,000 Pesos a day so it´s a good idea to have some money stashed away where only you can find it.

The last thing any of us needs when a loved one dies is the freezing of our assets but that´s what happens just at the worst possible time.

I remember when my mother died in about 1973 and we children all met with our mother´s ttorney at his office tje mornin after her funeral and one pf us queried the attorney as to our rights as heirs. I´ve forgotten what the query was about but I´'ll never forget his response.

"Go f"ck yoursellf, I´m in charge here. You´ll do as I say,"

´Nuff said.

They can freeze my Canadian assets???

[quote="Jim W"]Fortunately, We had a copy of the will, and there was a copy @ our friends home, and apparently the properly filed will was known to the authorities within hours. Unfortunately the policia semi trahed the place, and there wasn't a single peso to be found, and his wallet was empty. They confiscated his litle bong and MJ. This whole ordeal has turned into a PIA.

I can't imagine how difficult this would be without a will in Mexico. [/quote]

The cops steal everything in Mexico at all times. They are shameless about stealng from the living, much less the dead. When we complained to the federal cops in Chiapas that the local Tapachula cops had robbed us, the federal cops inquired as to what the local cops had failed to steal and when we informed them them that we still had $500 Pesos, the federal cops stole that. The utterñy disgraceful land of thieves and liars.

CanuckBob wrote:They can freeze my Canadian assets???

Bob, don't know, but, Spencer advised that the only thing covered in Mexican will, is Mexican assets! NOB assets require separate will.

Side note, Cremation @ Lakeside runs 9000 to 12,000 pesos. I thought a bit spendy?

The US Consulate contacted us within 48 hours of Bob's passing, and his SS has been stopped. Also, advised the $250.00 death benefit will not be issued to help cover funeral expenses, as he is not married.

Who told the US consulate about his death?

We don't have a clue, we assume the local authorities transmitted info to GDL office. Deb's name and telephone # were on the will.....he passed Saturday night ...they called us Monday around noon.

Does the doctor issuing the Death Certificate contact the authorities?

Jim W wrote:The US Consulate contacted us within 48 hours of Bob's passing, and his SS has been stopped. Also, advised the $250.00 death benefit will not be issued to help cover funeral expenses, as he is not married.

That's ridiculous. What does being married have to do with funeral expenses?

The police contacted the Municipal publico. Since no Dr. was present in this case, The local authorities contact the US Consolate in this case, within hours of the death. The Coroner released the remains to the Mortuary @ 4:00 today. The Municipal publico gave copies of the Death Certificate to the Mortuary today. Municipal Publico emailed a copy of same to the US Consolate today, and we received a translated copy via email today from the Consolate.

Once I have a clearer picture I will update. I can't believe how fast every thing has been done since Saturday, with offices closed Monday and Tuesday.

[quote="Jim W"]The US Consulate contacted us within 48 hours of Bob's passing, and his SS has been stopped. Also, advised the $250.00 death benefit will not be issued to help cover funeral expenses, as he is not married. [/quote]

It´s good that we have our priorites straight. Stop those social securirty payments immediately by all means. Burial of a rotting corpse can be handled tomorrow, Good bye Pork Pie Hat.

Jim W wrote:The police contacted the Municipal publico. Since no Dr. was present in this case, The local authorities contact the US Consolate in this case, within hours of the death. The Coroner released the remains to the Mortuary @ 4:00 today. The Municipal publico gave copies of the Death Certificate to the Mortuary today. Municipal Publico emailed a copy of same to the US Consolate today, and we received a translated copy via email today from the Consolate.

Once I have a clearer picture I will update. I can't believe how fast every thing has been done since Saturday, with offices closed Monday and Tuesday.

Hmmm no doctor present, don't they have to do an autopsy if there is no attending physician?

E-raq wrote:

Jim W wrote:The police contacted the Municipal publico. Since no Dr. was present in this case, The local authorities contact the US Consolate in this case, within hours of the death. The Coroner released the remains to the Mortuary @ 4:00 today. The Municipal publico gave copies of the Death Certificate to the Mortuary today. Municipal Publico emailed a copy of same to the US Consolate today, and we received a translated copy via email today from the Consolate.

Once I have a clearer picture I will update. I can't believe how fast every thing has been done since Saturday, with offices closed Monday and Tuesday.

Hmmm no doctor present, don't they have to do an autopsy if there is no attending physician?

Raq, Debbie got Dr. Leon on the telephone, Bob's primary care physician, and they spoke for a while....maybe 5 minutes with the ranking Mexican Representative on site, of course all in Spanish, so we don't have a clue about the discussion.

Since this our first and hopefully last suicide to deal with, I am thankful for Dr. Leons help at 11:00 PM that evening! Bob will be cremated tomorrow morning, and we will transport ashes to Portland, on our next trip NOB.

I'm so sorry Jim. I think I know the friend who passed. And I remember your heroic efforts to save him from illness a few years ago.

A friend told me always call the person's doctor to come to the house and start handling things.

Jim W wrote:The US Consulate contacted us within 48 hours of Bob's passing, and his SS has been stopped. Also, advised the $250.00 death benefit will not be issued to help cover funeral expenses, as he is not married.

Just another way for our CHEAPO American Gov't not to pay us.