After a death

1. The first hours

1. Call a doctorThe death must be certified by a physician. At home, through 112 or the health centre; in hospital or a care home it is done there. Nothing proceeds without the medical certificate.
2. Call a funeral directorThey handle removal, the chapel of rest and the paperwork, including registration at the civil registry. In Spain this is the normal route: you do not have to visit the offices yourself.
3. Check the insuranceMany households here hold a póliza de decesos, a funeral policy — often attached to home insurance or a bank account. It determines which firm acts. Look before you instruct anyone.
4. Registration at the civil registryWithin twenty-four hours, at the Juzgado de Paz. The burial or cremation licence follows. Justice of the Peace
5. Burial or cremationUsually within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. If relatives are travelling from abroad, say so at once — a delay is possible but has to be arranged.

2. Cemeteries in Altea

• Cementeri Municipal d’Altea — Partida les Rotes 1, 03590 Altea. Daily 9:00–19:00. 681 10 59 61. Route to the municipal cemetery
• Cementeri d’Altea la Vella — Partida Font del Garroferet 2, 03599 Altea. 965 84 80 39. Route to Altea la Vella

Graves and niches are granted by the municipality; the charges are in the fiscal bylaws. Burial rights are granted for a term and must be renewed — if your family holds a grave, know when it expires.

3. Crematorium and funeral homes

• Tanatori Crematori Marina Baixa — N-332, km 142, Villajoyosa. The nearest crematorium, daily 8:00–23:00. 965 89 58 58. Route to the crematorium
• Tanatori El Sagristà — Plaça d’Espanya 4, Callosa d’en Sarrià. 965 88 20 30
• Funerària Germans Femenia Pineda — Camí de Canor 26, Benissa, reachable around the clock. 649 48 18 44

These are the nearest establishments; the list is not a recommendation. Which firm acts usually follows from the funeral policy.

4. Where the deceased was a foreign national

• Notify the consulate — it issues the certificate for the home country and advises on repatriation. Other offices
• Repatriation — possible but involved: it requires a zinc-lined coffin, an authorisation and coordination between two administrations. The funeral director handles it; insurance often covers only part of the cost.
• Multilingual certificates — the Spanish death certificate exists in an international version accepted across the EU without translation. Ask for it expressly at the Juzgado de Paz.

5. Afterwards

• Several copies of the death certificate — bank, insurers, notary, consulate and pension providers will each want their own.
• Certificado de últimas voluntades — the certificate showing whether a will has been lodged. Applied for at the Ministry of Justice, at the earliest fifteen working days after the death.
• Inheritance tax — the deadline is six months from the date of death, extendable on application. It is a regional tax, handled by the Generalitat Valenciana, not the state tax office. Taxes
• Contracts — electricity, water, Suma, telephone, the owners’ association. Without a change of holder the direct debits continue.
• Pensions — notify both the Spanish and any foreign provider at once. Overpayments are reclaimed.

6. Making provision

Anyone living here spares their family a great deal by settling three things: a funeral policy or clear instructions, a Spanish will for assets situated in Spain, and a folder with identity documents, NIE, policies and bank details somewhere findable.

A Spanish will is made before a notary and noted in the central register. It does not replace a foreign will but complements it — and avoids the recognition of a foreign will, which can take months.

This page describes the usual procedure. For individual cases, particularly inheritance with a foreign element, legal or notarial advice is the right route.