Since the 1800’s the courts have made decisions to the effect that nobody owns your body after your death, however, your Executor does have certain duties in relation to it.

One of the first duties of your Executor is to arrange for the funeral. If there is a dispute between family members about the arrangements then the Executor has the final say, even overriding the views of your spouse.

Directions in your Will about your funeral are not binding on the Executor but are usually followed. Your estate is responsible for paying your funeral costs provided they are reasonable.

If you have left signed instructions that your body be cremated after death, the Cremations Act requires that wish be carried out.

It also prohibits cremation against the wishes of the deceased and the form that needs to be completed for cremation states that the deceased was not known to oppose cremation. The Act also requires the removal of Cardiac Pacemakers and Radioactive Implants before your body is cremated.

Some people think that it is desirable to retain a sample of the deceased’s hair before cremation so DNA testing can be carried out at a later stage by descendants or relatives for investigation of medical conditions or ancestry.

If there is no family member or other person available the State can organise burial or cremation of your body.

If you want to donate your organs after death you can register on the Organ Donation Register, however, if your family object to the donation it cannot proceed.

If you have not registered for organ donation it can still occur provided that your next of kin consent and they have no reason to believe that you objected to the donation.

In 2007 nationally only about 37% of families gave consent for organ donation for their deceased loved ones so it’s a good idea to talk to your family about the issue.

The Transplantation and Anatomy Act is being reviewed to determine whether the donor's wishes should prevail over the wishes of family.

Inviting your questions and comments.

Michelle Lember
Partner
Lember And Williams

your team. the LAW team.

Thank you for the inisghtful comments Michelle.
People may also want to consider donating their remains to a University medical School for science. My experience is that the University takes the body and when finished arranges a cremation. this has to help the advancement of medical science which benefits us all.

Bear in mind that often the deceased's Will is not located until some time after the funeral. in that case, any wishes expressed by the deceased for burial/cremation/donation of organs or body to science will not be made known to the executor/next of kin in time to act on them.

You should ensure that your family are made aware of your wishes while you are alive. This may also reduce the risk of your family objecting to organ donation if recorded in the Register, if you have previously expressed your wishes to them.

Regards
Michelle Lember

your team. the LAW team.