Alabama allows an individual to prepare an affidavit appointing an agent to deal with disposition of his or her remains at death. This can be a useful document to have when there is the potential for disputes in a blended family concerning where someone should be buried or whether to bury or cremate the remains.

I have written about this affidavit previously on this blog (see https://janneallaw.com/2017/01/06/appointing-an-agent-for-disposal-of-remains-in-alabama/), but it bears repeating due to a development I have seen in recent years.

Often unmarried significant others are making burial/cremation arrangements for a partner, and it comes as a surprise to them to learn that the funeral home will not accept the instructions of the unmarried partner to cremate. Instead the instruction must come from the next of kin. This can be especially problematic when there are estranged children, making the process even more stressful than it already is.

To avoid this problem, when preparing estate planning documents, it is a good idea to have an affidavit prepared or included in your will giving the person of your choice, especially an unmarried partner, the authority to make arrangements in the manner you wish, to include cremation.