Pawlowski, Mark ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-5809 (2026) Funeral arrangements and family wishes. Family Law, 56. pp. 650-654. ISSN 0014-7281

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Abstract

Although there is no right of ownership in a dead body under English law, the common law imposes a duty upon the deceased's personal representatives to arrange for the proper disposal of the body. In the event of a dispute, the court has an inherent jurisdiction to direct how the deceased's body should be disposed of. The recent case of Patel v Patel [2025] EWHC 560 (Ch), has highlighted the difficulties in determining a deceased's funeral arrangements where the deceased's will contains no directions as to how the body is to be disposed of and the family members (also the executors) are in dispute as to how this should be best achieved. Apart from Patel, the article reviews a number of other cases where the court was required to intervene where two persons with equal priority in making decisions were not able to agree on the disposal of the deceased's body.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All rights reserved: "Authors can share their accepted manuscript immediately" in institutional repositories, provided they include acknowledgement that the published version will be or has been published by LexisNexis and include an appropriate citation. [lexisnexis.com]"
Uncontrolled Keywords:	administration of estates, funeral arrangements, burials and cremation, disposal of dead bodies, executors, funerals, wills, courts' inherent jurisdiction
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Law and Criminology
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2026 10:22
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/53930

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