Who Has the Right to Plan Funeral Services in Ohio?

If you have ever had to plan funeral services for a loved one, you know that there are a lot of decisions to be made. Cremation or burial? Traditional funeral service, or celebration of life? Who will be invited to attend? Where will the final resting place of the remains be?

The task of making these decisions usually falls to a spouse or other loved one. But who decides when family members disagree, or if the person closest to the deceased, like a longtime romantic partner, disagrees with the decedent’s family members about what to do? What happens if a family deliberately overrides the wishes expressed by the deceased before their death?

If all of this makes you wonder, “Who will plan MY funeral?” there is good news: you still have control over that decision while you are alive. It can help to leave explicit directions regarding your wishes, but you may wish to do more. The answer is to appoint a representative to plan your funeral, which you can do as part of the estate planning process or separately from it.

Why Give Someone the Right to Plan Funeral Services?

Why does it matter who has the right to plan funeral services? After all, the person whose funeral or memorial it is will never know. But since a funeral is intended to honor the deceased, funeral arrangements should reflect what is important to that person.

Unfortunately, that often doesn’t happen. We have seen longtime partners of deceased individuals excluded from funeral planning, or even attendance, by the decedent’s family members. We are also aware of people whose beliefs differed from those of their family members, buried in a religious tradition that they didn’t share or perhaps outright rejected. More recently, stories have come out about trans individuals whose families “deadnamed” and misgendered them, dismissing their very identity at a service that should honor them.

It’s also common for family members to disagree and bicker over how to plan funeral arrangements, leading to family discord at a time when the family should be pulling together. Appointing a representative can avoid conflict and, most importantly, ensure that the wishes of the deceased are honored.

How to Give Someone the Right to Plan Funeral Services

Under Ohio law, you can assign a person or persons of your choosing the right to make certain decisions after your death. These decisions include the disposition of your remains and the right to make arrangements for your funeral. This power is called the “right of disposition,” and you assign it to your chosen representative through a written declaration.

The declaration of the assignment of the right of disposition must include:

• The declarant’s legal name and present address;
• A statement that the declarant is an adult of sound mind who willfully and voluntarily appoints a representative to have the right of disposition for the declarant’s body upon the declarant’s death;
• A statement that all decisions made by the declarant’s representative with respect to the right of disposition are binding;
• The name, last known address, and last known telephone number of an individual representative, or it the representative is a group, the name, last known address, and phone number for each person in the group;
• If the declarant chooses, a statement that if any person or group of persons named as the declarant’s representative is disqualified, the declarant appoints a successor representative;
• The name, last known address, and telephone number of the successor representative if applicable;
• A space in which the declarant can give their preferences about how the representative should exercise the right of disposition, including wishes regarding any religious observances;
• A space in which the declarant can identify sources of funds to be used in paying for goods and services associated with exercising the right of disposition;
• A statement that the written declaration becomes effective upon the declarant’s death;
• A statement revoking any prior declaration of the right of disposition;
• A space for the declarant to sign and date the declaration;
• A space for a notary public or two witnesses can sign and date the declaration.

Unlike a simple written list of one’s last wishes, a declaration of the right of disposition gives the chosen representative a right that is recognized by law, even over others who would ordinarily get to be in charge of their funeral planning in Ohio.

What Happens Without a Declaration of the Right of Disposition?

If you have not explicitly appointed someone as your representative with the right to plan funeral services for you, Ohio law provides an order of priority regarding who should have that right. In the following order, the following people have the right to plan a funeral:

• The surviving spouse of the decedent;
• The surviving child or children of the decedent;
• The surviving parent or parents of the decedent;
• The surviving sibling or siblings of the decedent;
• The surviving grandparent or grandparents of the decedent;
• Lineal descendants of the decedent’s grandparents, such as aunts, uncles, and cousins;
• The decedent’s personal guardian at the time of their death;
• Any person willing to serve in this capacity, including a licensed funeral director or personal representative of the estate, so long as they attest in writing that they were unable to locate any person with greater priority.

Many people would be just fine with their spouse or adult children having the right to plan their funeral, but even if that is true in your case, it is a good idea to discuss your preferences and ideally, to leave them in writing rather than trust them to the memory of a grieving loved one.

Get Professional Guidance on Planning Funeral Services

To learn more about estate administration, Ohio funeral planning, or how to give someone the right to plan your funeral, contact Gudorf Law Group to schedule a consultation.