It took 3 weeks for me to gather all the needed documents for the Registro Civil (equivalent to the County Clerk’s office). On 11Feb (23 days since the Basha’s death) with the documents (birth certificates and marriage license) and the CERTIFIED translations of all of them. They reviewed the documents and told me that all of the documents had to apostilled (certified as legitimate in the US) before they could be accepted. This is a problem.
- They COULD have told me this 3 weeks ago, but they just said I needed the certified translations.
- Apostilles require time to get from the States. The documents have to be sent or scanned, notarized, reviewed, and an apostille certificate has to be generated. THEN the documents have to get to me in Mexico! Typical turn-around time for an apostille to get here is about 4 weeks.
- The Registro Civil people informed me that although I had initially been told 50 days, in reality I only had 30 days from the date of the death – so I had to have all of this done in the next WEEK!! I told them it was impossible. They said that if it went over 30 days I would need to hire a lawyer and explain in court why everything was not done within the time limit.
A good friend talked me into going to see the lawyer who managed our house purchase to see what we could do. He put me in touch with the US apostille guy that he and his clients use. It was a start, but the apostille guy didn’t think that there was any way to get them to me within a week. So I guess I’m contacting a lawyer.
17Feb – Talked to a lawyer who coached me through writing a letter (using the appropriate Mexican legal terms) to petition the Registro Civil for more time to receive and bring in the apostilles. I got it filed it JUST before the close of business. And because it was so last minute, I had to go on my own and rely on my not-very-good Spanish to explain the purpose of the letter. Hoping that it helps.
19Feb – one month since the Basha died. I got a WhatsApp from the woman I’ve been working with at the Registro Civil at 2pm. She informed me that there was an official application that had to be filed TODAY before the close of business (3pm) to request an extension on the paperwork. So I had to RUN to the Registro Civil, with all the paperwork that I had and pay for the application filing. The woman was very kind and helpful, and stayed a bit late to get the application registered in their system on time. Once again, I had to rely on my Spanish. This is very stressful!
3March – The apostilles arrived at the lawyer’s office. I practically RAN to the office to get them. I brought them to the Registro Civil the next morning, bright and early. Maybe this is the end of this craziness.
NOPE. The cover page of the apostilles is in English. It has to be translated, by a CERTIFIED translator, before they can accept them. Another hope dashed.
6March – The translator was GREAT and got the apostille covers translated quickly. I brought everything to the Registro Civil, and TRULY thought it was finally settled. The woman I’d been working with took copies of all the documents, and said that the file would be sent to a judge to be reviewed, and she would call me when the decision came back. If approved, I could come to the Registro Civil and pay the fee for the, now corrected, death certificate. YAY.
But no.
About an hour after leaving the Registro Civil, I got a WhatsApp from the woman there. There was a problem. The Basha’s birth certificate has his middle name spelled out, but the marriage license only has a middle initial.
Yeah… okay. What is the problem?
She told me that I had to get the marriage license changed to reflect the whole middle name, and then I could resubmit the paperwork.
WAITAMINUTE
WHAT
YOUHAVETOBEJOKING
Here is the Catch-22 that I tried to describe to her:
You want me to go to the City Office and ask to change my husband’s name on the marriage license.
- They are going to ask “Where is your husband to approve this change?”
- I will tell them “My husband died.”
- They will ask to see the death certificate. (Which I would have to have translated to English, and apostilled in Mexico – but that is a different rant.) They would see that the death certificate lists him as being single.
- They would tell me “We can’t change the marriage license using a death certificate for a person who is listed as single. You are out of luck”
So here I am, CATCH-22. The death certificate won’t be changed without the marriage license being changed. And I can’t get the marriage license changed because the death certificate lists him as single.
I don’t know what I did to earn this Karma. I’m still fighting, and I will not give up until I get this fixed. But I have to admit, I’m REALLY tired.