Coping with loss in Costa Rica

A will is essential and it must be a Costa Rican will that's registered in the National Registry. Costa Rican law does not recognize wills from other countries. If you have assets in both Costa Rica and elsewhere, you should have a valid will in each country.

If the deceased party is a citizen of another country (i.e., not Costa Rica), then the Costa Rican death certificate must be immediately provided to that country's Costa Rican embassy.

Many people use the terms, "visa" and "legal residency" interchangeably. They are not the same. If your question is about the implications for survivors for the passing of a "legal resident", then those survivors may (may) have to requalify for legal residency based on their own assets income, etc.

There are three types of legal residency: pensionado, rentista, and invernatista(sp?). And . . . there are two "levels" of legal residency for each type: temporary and permanent. One may apply for conversion to permanent legal residency after three years in the status of a temporary resident.

Should the person who qualified for residency die while a temporary resident, then the survivor(s) may have to requalify to maintain their residency status. Survivors of a permanent resident do not have to requalify.

As retirees here age, there is a compelling argument for converting to permanent residency. Losing a family member will be traumatic enough, but having to tussle with the bureaucracy around residency will only make matters more difficult.

Note: After seven years in the status of legal resident, you may apply for Costa Rican citizenship. The U.S. and Costa Rica both recognize dual citizenship. If you're over 65, you do not have to pass the Spanish language test or the Costa Rican history test, so basically it's a paper shuffle. Costa Rican citizens are not legally required to be enrolled or pay for the CAJA.

Funny you should ask...  not really... but, I had a conversation about some of these things with a friend and his old classmate here one night.  The classmate was a cop; and then went to school to be a lawyer.  I asked him what would happen if I died 'that night'?   He said that once my body was found (hahahaha!!!  if the ants don't eat me first...) whomever finds me would call the police.  The police immediately contact the Migraction Police that a foreigner has died; who, in turn, contact the US Embassy.  The Embassy (you should always register with the state dept or equal, from your home country... that you are living abroad) will contact your family... according to the contact information that you gave them during registration; as to who is your 'next of kin'.  They also contact the US Dept. of State... who, in turn, contacts people like the Social Security Administration to let them know that you are deceased.  Your next of kin in your home country should have possession of your Will; or at least, know who does.

Will??   If you have 'property' of any kind, both in CR and back in your home country... Then; GET A WILL drawn up in BOTH countries.   It will make things for your next of kin back 'home' or 'new' best buds here in Costa Rica...  much easier.   So I did that.  All I have in the states are my bank accounts... so that was easy.  My Costa Rican 'will' states that a friend here is responsible for maintaining the property (with access to the funds which are in account Here in CR, to do so) until it can be sold at a fair price.  The income from the sale is divided as I instructed... which includes 25% to go to the village for whatever they want to use it for... I don't care.  They can have a party if they want... I'll be dead.  My CR Will instructs that I be cremated; where the funds are to pay for that; and a friend has been told which 'volcano' to throw me into.   Or he can use me for garden fertilizer... I don't care; I'll be dead. 

It's so nice to have that monkey off my back. 

Hope this helps a tiny bit.

rainagain's advice, immediately above, is spot on. A detail he didn't include, however, is that if you do NOT have a will in Costa Rica, then a lengthy probate court process will determine how your assets here will be divided according to the Probate Code. The Probate Code specifies a list of beneficiaries who may not include folks you wish to receive a share.

Yep Dave.  It always amazes me how many people don't consider 'dying'... as if they will magically live forever... and then it actually happens.  Who knew???   I saw my parents go though all kinds of crap, as a kid, when my mother's 'old maid' aunts passed away.  No kids; no next of kin.  But somehow my mother was the one to deal with it all; from cleaning out houses that had been lived in for like 60 years... which 'housed' antique cars, guns, and extremely interesting gadgets; to dealing with ancient 'bonds' and other certificates.  One of them had a cottage in the Bahamas... the 'folks' living in it had no proof whatsover as to 'who' actually owned it... nor did they seem to 'know' my great aunt.  What a disaster it all was... but I loved the books and old tools that we ended up with... needless to say, my parents had everything drawn up long before they departed... they had learned from experience; and thus; I'm ready to go as well.