A Missouri funeral director recently called for advice. He received a first call for an individual that died without a spouse or children. The deceased had a surviving parent and several siblings, but a distant relative was asserting the right of sepulcher by virtue of a durable power of attorney. The funeral director had reviewed
right of sepulcher
Avoiding Downgrades: Coupling the Preneed Contract with a Power of Attorney
By Bill Stalter on
The traditional funeral and burial remains the preference of many individuals. Understanding that this type of arrangement will be more expensive, many of those individuals purchase a preneed contract to spare their survivors a financial burden. But what happens when a child does not respect their parent’s preference for a traditional funeral and burial? Upon…
Mining the Internet for a Power of Attorney form: Is a Free Form Better than Nothing?
By Bill Stalter on
Free power of attorney forms may not provide what the client needs. …
Continue Reading Mining the Internet for a Power of Attorney form: Is a Free Form Better than Nothing?
Missouri’s Right of Sepulcher: Who gets the Cremains?
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Supulcher/Preference Laws
The Missouri Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion involving facts that are all too familiar with funeral directors: family members disputing who controls a funeral and the right to cremains.
A mother contacted a St. Louis funeral home about arrangements for an adult son who was gravely ill. The funeral home sold the mother…
Right of Sepulcher: Last Rites Denied
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Right of Sepulcher, Transition Documents
We recently came across a Missouri Law Review article that examined a Missouri Court of Appeals case that ruled a durable power of attorney for health care decisions was ineffective for the granting a right of sepulcher. The form included a “springing” clause which was never triggered by two physicians’ determination of incompetency. The article…
The Right of Sepulcher: One Hurdle to the Final Resting Place
By Bill Stalter on
A Kansas City Star article reported on the role of the Missing in Action Project in getting Major Rombauer to his final resting place. Much of the work of the MIA Project goes unreported, but this story was found noteworthy because Major Rombauer’s cremains had been sitting on a shelf at the crematory for 102…
Right of Sepulcher: An Attorney’s Error
By Bill Stalter on
Betty Jean Collins had her own preferences for the disposition of her body, but her children had other plans. As counsel to many funeral homes, I have seen this situation too many times. The time that should be used for remembrance and healing, is instead marked by conflict and expense. A right of sepulcher designation…
The Right of Sepulcher and Nebraska: Giving the Preneed Contract a Higher Dignity
By Bill Stalter on
Representatives from Nebraska’s death care industry will be meeting this fall to discuss the Department of Insurance’s preneed legislative proposal, and the right of sepulcher will be among the issues for discussion.
Nebraska is among the states that have statutory provisions defining the priority of individuals who may claim the right of sepulcher (which is…