Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Washington

Re: Prearranged Cremation

First, please accept my condolences upon your loss.

Regarding the brother who was your father's attorney in fact - did he make the arrangements for your father, or did your father make the arrangements before he became incompetent?

The cremation facility is pushing the line here. If your father (or his designated attorney in fact) made arrangements ahead of time, then the facility should honor those arrangements.

If you do not get a clear signal that the facility will honor their agreement and your father's DPOA designation, then you should take this issue as presented here to the Attorney General.

This is a consumer complaint, and the AG has a consumer protection division. They will help you.

The law is that contracts have requirements for performance on both sides. Your father paid for their service, they now cannot perform because he . . . forgot to sign something? Did that prevent them from taking his money? If they need a signature, then they can have his Attorney in Fact's signature.

I have no idea whether they are trying to increase the charges or have some other motive, but clearly they are distressing you at a difficult time. That may expose them to your complaint to the AG, and if they have a really good reason for now refusing to perform their bargain, they can explain it to the state, which takes a dim view of tactics such as this under such trying circumstances.

Hope this helps. Powell

Re: Prearranged Cremation

I agree with all that Ms. Powell has stated. I would simply add as a way of explanation that under Washington law, absent some prearrangement by the decedent, and if no spouse is alive, ALL living children must sign prior to cremation of the decedent. I believe the intent of the law was to protect the funeral home against any claims by children if one "renegade" child decided to cremate. Obviously cremation cannot be "undone". I advise my clients, if they indeed want to be cremated, to include those instructions in their will even though the will is not likely to be reviewed prior to their cremation. Unfortunately, situations such as yours is the reason I do this.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised at where your discussions with the AG's office take you. These funeral homes tend to listen as the licensing requirements are fairly strict and the suspension of a license can adversely affect their operations.