Want a Nude Funeral?  Have it Your Way.

     Some of us have very specific ideas about events in our lives.  We want our wedding just so.  Perhaps it is an outdoor ceremony by the ocean or a Las Vegas ceremony presided over by a pseudo-Elvis.  And, nobody is going to stop us from having it our way, assuming we can find a partner who will go along with it.

     In death, as in life, some of us have very specific wishes for our funerals.  Take Robert Norton.  He lived his life in the idyllic Midwestern town of Pekin, Illinois, about halfway between St. Louis and Chicago.  Though he lived his life in a town that could have inspired a Norman Rockwell cover for the Saturday Evening Post, Robert was rather eclectic.  He was a naturist or nudist and as such did not choose to wear clothes.  He chose not to wear clothes in his home, his yard, and elsewhere.  In fact, Robert was arrested twenty times for indecency since 1962.

     When Robert died at age 82, unsurprisingly, he wanted to leave this world as he was born into it–without clothes. However, his family would have none of it.  They buried him in grey trousers and a shirt.

     While your funeral and burial wishes may not be as unusual as Robert’s, there may be family opposition to your wishes.  Perhaps you were raised in one religion and converted to another.  Perhaps you want to be cremated but family members are opposed for religious or other reasons.   Perhaps you want to be buried with a pet.  Perhaps you want your body given for research in contravention to the wishes of others.  Perhaps you have some other unorthodox request.  How do you make sure your wishes are carried out?

     First, you can purchase a pre-paid funeral plan.  This creates a binding contract between you and the funeral home.  Your family cannot break the contract.  However, they could choose to go to another funeral home and walk away from the pre-paid funeral.  Next, you can name someone you trust as your executor, to carry out your wishes.  Finally, you can say that if anyone goes against your wishes, they will be disinherited and will get none of your assets.

     Your funeral arrangements and what happens to your property after you die are very personal decisions.  You can make sure those decisions are respected.  A qualified estate planning attorney can help make sure your wishes are carried out—even if you do not want to be buried in the nude like Robert.

     Ms. Angie Whiddon Murtadi is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys and has been engaged in the practice of law for the last 20 years.  For more information or to attend an upcoming seminar, fill out the contact form or call 404-941-6027.