The death of a loved on is always such a distressing time. When a death occurs overseas it makes the situation that much more difficult. We’ re sorry for your loss and hope that this practical guide can help with understanding what to do next.
There may be an immediate sense of urgency as you need to decide if the body will be repatriated home. There is also a need to work with a funeral home abroad as they will need to either make burial or transport arrangements.
Your checklist
- Get in contact with the Embassy
- Check for travel insurance
- Appoint a local funeral home for repatriation
- Register the death abroad
- Check if you need to register the death in Australia
- Estate management
- Dealing with foreign assets
1. Get in contact with the Embassy
Foreign authorities are required to alert the Australian Embassy when an Australian citizen has died in their country. Australian embassy will check and verify the death. You may first be officially informed of your loved one’s passing by an Australian Embassy abroad. Foreign embassies provide immediate and practical advice. This includes;
- Advising families on legal and administrative process
- Providing a list of local funeral directors and lawyers
- Ensuring the funeral directors have sufficient information on quarantine to return the body home
- Locate translation services
- Advice on cost of local funerals or transport of the body home
Embassies also have limitations on what assistance they can provide. They are unable to make recommendations, loan money, get involved in legal affairs and investigations or take responsibility for a person’s personal effects. You will need to make arrangements with the foreign hotel or landlord where your loved on was residing at the time of death to make arrangements for any person effects.
2. Check for travel insurance
You may not be aware if your loved one had insurance. If in doubt, get access to their emails and run a search for insurance. The next of kin can contact the email service provider with information about the death to request access to the deceased’s email account.
Most travel insurance policies include coverage for the expenses associated with a death abroad. This may include; flights for a family member to travel abroad, flights for a travelling companion to return, coverage for foreign or domestic funeral expenses, repatriation of the body and possibly a lump sum payout to the next of kin.
Travel insurance may be taken out as a separate policy, or it may be automatically issued by a credit card company where eligible travel was booked on the card. If the deceased did not have travel insurance check for any coverage that may be offered in a life insurance policy, if available. Should there be no insurance available the family and estate will be out of pocket for all expenses.
3. Appointing a funeral home
It is essential the family works with a funeral home abroad. If you are repatriating the body, the funeral home will be given information for Australian quarantine so that the body can be safely embalmed. There may be strict time requirements for the embalming to take place. If you are not repatriating the body the home can advise on local burial or cremation options. While it may be more convenient, it is not mandatory that you travel abroad to make arrangements in either scenario.
If you are repatriating the body to Australia it’s a good idea to seek out an Australian funeral home with some expertise in funeral shipping. Both the foreign and local funeral directors will work together to return the body to Australia and comply with quarantine requirements. It is essential to know what the laws are for exporting human remains are in the foreign country before making any decisions. Your Australian funeral home may also arrange ceremonies locally, interstate or overseas.
If cremation is an option in the foreign country, you may fly the ashes back. Check with the airline for their policy on baggage type, urn specifications and security declarations. There is no need to declare the ashes on arrival in Australia, providing it is free from wood and soil.
No matter where the body is buried or cremated, you can have a funeral service in either or both countries.
4. Register the death abroad
It is essential to have a death certificate if the deceased had any assets, accounts or pensions in Australia. The certificate is required to establish the deceased estate or to release their assets to the next of kin. Certificates are issued by the local authority where the death occurred. The Australian Embassy can advise you on who to contact for the death certificate.
5. Check if you should register the death in Australia
There may be no requirement for a death abroad to be registered back in Australian. If there are no Australian assets to take care of then there may not be any requirement for an Australian death certificate.
As the family go through the process of checking assets or establishing a deceased estate you may find some organisations insist on seeing an Australian death certificate. In such cases you apply to the Births, Deaths and Marriages office in the state or territory where your loved one ordinarily resided for an Australian death certificate as sometimes overseas certificates are not legally recognised in Australia.
6. Establish the estate
A grant of representation may be required from the court to manage the deceased’s assets. The grant provides legal authority to the executor named in the will to discharge any debts, bring in assets and disburse the proceeds of the estate. If the deceased did not have a will the next of kin should apply to the Court of Probate become an executor.
A grant of representation may not be necessary if the deceased did not have significant assets. The person who would be executor or administrator should check what assets the deceased held, then find out if a grant from the court is necessary to release the assets to the next of kin.
When the court issues a grant, it is only valid for property in that state. If the deceased held real estate or unmovable property in a different Australian state or territory, the existing grant should be submitted to the interstate jurisdiction for approval. This is known as ‘resealing’ the grant.
7. Dealing with foreign assets
If the deceased had property overseas it may be possible for your Australian grant to be resealed in a foreign jurisdiction, particularly in Commonwealth countries. If your Australian grant can’t be resubmitted, then the executor or administrator may need to apply for a new grant following the laws of that country.
The validity of an Australian will may be challenged in a foreign country. A foreign will may be required for the deceased’s succession plans to be valid, or there may be specific compliance requirements for the Australian will to be upheld. In such cases, it is recommended to seek legal advice from a solicitor.
Resources
Importing human remains to Australia