Who Controls the Disposition of a Decedent’s Remains?

Kyril Faenov did not make his desires known with respect to the disposition of his remains after death. His widow arranged to bury him at a cemetery in Seattle. However, his mother wanted to exhume his remains and place them in Oregon, and she petitioned the court for permission. The court denied the petition, stating that in absence of testamentary intent, the statutory kinship hierarchy controls such disposition for a decedent’s remains.

            The General Cemetery Act permits the control of human remains to vest in kinship priority, placing the surviving spouse above a surviving parent. Further, the court noted that the right to control burial circumstances that vest is a perpetual right. One that his widow enjoys unshared statutory priority in.

See Julianne Tobin Wojay, Mom Can’t Disinter Son’s Body Without Widow’s OK, May 18, 2016.

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (Harold H. Greene Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.