Have i any rights over my mothers funeral?
her awful boyfriend is in prison and has changed all my funeral arrangements.my mothers wishes were to be cremated not buried.he is not notifying me of anything, the funeral has been put on hold and i have no say. she was only with him 4 years and he was awful to her
Answers:
I doubt he has any say if he's in prison! Why has the funeral been put on hold? I'd see a solicitor PDQ!!!
I don't understand how a boyfriend would have any rights.
And he's in prison? There's important information missing to answer your question.
Did she leave a will giving him authority? See a solicitor - quickly.
aww sorry hun. I think you have a say in something. My grandfather just past away and wished to be cremated and have a small funeral. He got cremated thankfully :D. But he had a huge funeral, which was not what he wanted. My dad and I tried to tell his sister but she wouldn't listen. I wish you the best of luck, i tried to have a say and couldn't but maybe yours will be different :D
How is he able to do any of this from prison??
Contact the funeral home or the county where her body is, and claim it, period. If that doesn't work, you might need a lawyer to help you claim it.
You might also need to hire a lawyer and find out what her will says and who, if anyone, is named in her will (if there even was one). In just about every state, he has no rights unless they were married or he was named as the beneficiary or the decision-maker on a legal document. As the next of kin, you are the one who should be deferred to legally -- especially since he's incapacitated at the moment.
And I'm still shocked he can do any of this from jail.
First of all is it in her will that he has the say over the funeral?? If not... then its up to the family... get in touch with a lawyer asap...
He was only the boyfriend unless your mother wrote a will or last testament giving him all the rights. You are the daughter you have all the rights, get him out of the picture and notify all the people involved with your mom that you and only you have the rights. If they do not then you will have to get the police or lawyers involved. I am sorry that you lost your mom and have to deal with this ingrate.
yes u have all the rights
get another member of the family to help u...
if he's in prison what can he do anyway. respect ur mum's wishes she would be proud...
ignore silly bf. e dont know nuffin...
u take over then, y should he be in charge wen hes inside anyway...
sorry for ur loss xxxx hope it turns out good for you..
yes!
You are likely to have all the rights. Even if your mother has named her boyfreind as next as kin for some reason, that can be challenged. Unless she specifically willed herself to him, then your wishes should prevail.
If contacting a solicitor is a problem then contact the Citizens Advice Bureau , they should be able to assist.
Unless she left a will to say otherwise, he has no legal rights at all. She was your mother. Just go ahead and make the arrangements the way you want. It is quite frankly none of his business. See a solicitor. I am so sorry to hear that your mum died and hope you are OK :)
Boyfriend?? If they were not married, he needs a signed Power of Attorney to have any say whatsoever. Is it that he's paying for it and is, therefore, negotiating the contract with the funeral home? He can do that, but you don't have to go along with it. If her child (children) agree that she's to be cremated, there's nothing he can do about it.
I'm hoping you or a sibling is over 18. If not, you may need a guardian appointed to ensure your rights are observed. Funeral homes are just businesses out to make money--you may have to threaten them with legal action if they try to ignore you.
It depends on her will. If she gave him authority to administer the funeral, then he can do it. If not, then as a boyfriend, he has no rights.
Unless she left a will naming the boyfriend as executor of her estate, I doubt HE has any rights at all. The executor named in the will would normally be in charge of funeral arraignments. If no will exists, the next of kin (apparently you) should be in charge.
Pepper is mistaken about a Power of Attorney. At the moment of death, the POA becomes invalid.
Legally he's not the next of kin & the responsibility of funeral lies with the next of kin...if you have siblings or surviving grandparents you are all equal (unless 1 or more of you were estranged, in which case the estranged relatives have no rights).
As the arrangements were made by you the funeral director is completely out of order to take changes from anyone other than you...If you're taking responsibility for arranging (& presumably paying for) the funeral it is a legal contract between you & the funeral director so if they've changed it without your say so its technically illegal.
See a solicitor or the CAB who will sort everything out for you.
Sorry about your mum. Unless the boyfriend is specifically appointed to deal with the arrangements he has no rights at all. The undertaker will normally take instructions from the next of kin, but it may be difficult if you are a minor.
Please speak to the undertaker to discuss your concerns.
how can he make arrangements from prison?
do you have brothers and or sisters? your views should be listened to. Try the CAB if in the UK
I'm not sure about legal rights hun, you haven't given enough information.
But you certainly have the MORAL right. It has got nothing to do with her ex. You are next of kin (unless she specifically gave him permission and rights in a will??) so you sort out the arrangements.
He's not next of kin and has no rights whatsoever, there are laws governing this, call a funberal director - they will be able ttell you. There are laws - they don't have to be enforced too often, governing who actually has the right to travel in the first car - I was informed of that when my first hubby died and my mother-in-law expected me sand my son to travel in the second car, she also tried to get the headstone inscribed with 'inappropriate' wording, which the crematorium notified me of, as she actually had no say on that either - they wouldn't have erected it without my agreement. Go to a solicitor for a free 1/2 hour consult. UK
As far as I know , the arrangements are down to the next of kin . Which whould mean the boyfreind had no saying in the matter
Take advise from your local CAB , as I am quite sure I am right.
I feel so sorry for you , as you do not need all this , at such a sad time
If he is just a boyfriend, and unless you mother made specific arrangements that he could make her funeral arrangements, I would think that this has to be attended to by next of kin. However, if he lived with her, I'm not sure what the legal position is on co-habitees in this respect.
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