ABSTRACT
Most people have at least a vague idea of what they would like done with their belongings and their bodies upon death. Their primary concerns often center around providing for their family or friends and ensuring that funeral arrangements do not impose unnecessary burdens on their survivors. Some people may also wish that their lives not be prolonged once meaningful existence is no longer possible. In death, as in life, legal restrictions may frustrate the achievement of their goals. The legal restrictions concerning death have been established to assure that the deceased person’s genuine intentions are carried out, to safeguard family members and the public at large, and to provide an efficient and orderly system of distributing property and disposing of bodies. Property owned by a decedent that is not transferred by a valid will is distributed pursuant to the laws of intestacy.
