We recently found this post on funeral matters explaining the authorities of executors, guardians and power of attorney agents to control funeral arrangements. The post is limiting its advice to New Jersey laws, but a casual reader could lose sight of that limitation. With regard to executors, the post suggests that an executor will be limited to financial matters of the estate, which may include paying the funeral bill. But the post advises than an executor cannot control the decedent’s final disposition. As a practical matter, a court’s appointment of an executor may take weeks (and long after the funeral must be provided). So, the post is somewhat accurate, but that is not case in New Jersey where the law was revised in 2019. Under that amendment, the person appointed as executor under a will may control the funeral arrangements before the estate is opened by a court. The post’s explanation about power of attorneys also misses the mark. In almost all states, right of sepulcher language can be included in a power of attorney form to provide the POA agent the authority to control the principal’s disposition. When the New Jersey law was amended, it too recognizes the authority to control a funeral arrangement.
