Who Gets Child’s Remains When Parents Do Not Agree?

There was an interesting case published today regarding who got the remains of their son’s cremated ashes when the mother and father could not agree. One parent tried to state that the remains should be split and filed a partition case in much the same way as one would do with a home or a piece of land.

In reviewing the case history and what other courts have done, the Florida appellate court agreed with the trial judge who found that “ashes were not property” and hence were not subject to a partition. The court noted that while the division of ashes among heirs by funeral homes may be a common practice where the heirs are in agreement as to the division, a decedent’s remains, including ashes, are not “property” subject to ownership or court-ordered partition.

The opinion starts off discussion comments by William Blackstone in 1753 and moves forward through Florida case law. If you would like to review the case and facts you may read the case here. The cite for the case is 39 Fla. L. Weekly D1037a

So if you’re wondering who got the remains- The trial court had ordered that if the parents the co-personal representatives could not agree, the court was going to appoint someone else to make the decision.