Who Has The Right To Make Funeral Arrangements In The UK?

Who can legally make funeral arrangements? And what happens if there’s a disagreement between family members? Here we’ll take you through who has the right to make funeral arrangements in the UK and what to do if any disputes arise.

Who has the right to make funeral arrangements?

In the UK, if a person passes away their closest family members will usually be responsible for making their funeral arrangements. But there are some exceptions.

If the person who passed away left a will, they will have named the person who’s responsible for making their funeral arrangements. If they haven’t left a will then there are some legal steps that need to be taken to make sure the right person is making their funeral arrangements. We’ll explain this in more detail below.

If there’s a will…

The person who’s responsible for funeral arrangements is known as the executor of the will.

The executor is the person who has the right to make funeral arrangements. The executor could be a family member, a partner, a close friend, or a professional that you trust like a solicitor. In fact, it could be anyone who the person who died chose to put in their will. If the executor is a friend or a professional they may choose to step aside and hand over the funeral arrangements to a family member instead. It’s also possible to choose 2 executors. This means that they’ll both be responsible for arranging the funeral and managing your personal affairs.

If there’s no will…

The person who’s responsible for funeral arrangements is known as the administrator of their estate. But when there’s no will left behind the rules of intestacy apply. This means that the court will decide who will be the administrator of the estate. The court will always do their best to make sure someone trustworthy becomes administrator. This means that the administrator is nearly always the next of kin.

What exactly does next of kin mean?

The next of kin is the closest family member to the person who’s passed away. But because this can mean different things to different people the court uses a next of kin hierarchy to decide who has the right to make funeral arrangements.

The next of kin hierarchy runs in this order:

Spouse or civil partner of the person who’s passed away
Children of the person who’s passed away
Parents of the person who’s passed away
Brothers or sisters of the person who’s passed away
Grandparents of the person who’s passed away
Aunts and uncles of the person who’s passed away
Cousins of the person who’s passed away
Nieces and nephews of the person who’s passed away
Close friend of the person who’s passed away

The person at the top of the list is usually considered next of kin by the courts. So they will typically be the one who can legally make funeral arrangements when there’s no will. But if, for example, the person wasn’t married or in a civil partnership then the responsibility would fall to the next person on the list. And so on until the relevant next of kin is found.

If someone has no next of kin, you can learn about what happens when someone dies without family.

Important: Legally the courts don’t recognise unmarried partners as part of the next of kin hierarchy. So even if the person who died had a long-term partner who they lived with they won’t have the right to make funeral arrangements according to the rules of intestacy. To make sure your partner has the right to make your funeral arrangements you can make a will that names them as the executor.

Who makes funeral arrangements when disagreements happen?

The legal rules that apply to wills and appointing an administrator are complicated. And they can sometimes lead to disagreements among families about who should be making the funeral arrangements. Here are some scenarios that could come up and how they can be solved when disagreements happen.

What happens when the executor isn’t that close to the person who passed away?

You can name anyone you like as the executor of your will. So if, for example, someone dies unexpectedly and made a will years ago the person they named as executor may no longer be in their life. Or they may not be as close as they once were. Disagreements can arise about who has the right to make funeral arrangements.

Legally the executor will still have the right to make funeral arrangements for the person who passed away. But if the person’s close family would rather make the funeral arrangements then they can speak to the executor about this. And if the executor agrees, then they can step aside and let the family plan the funeral instead.

What happens when there is more than one executor and they can’t agree on funeral arrangements?

If the person who passed away named 2 executors in their will and trusted them with their final wishes there are sometimes cases where they disagree on funeral arrangements. For example, they may not be able to agree about whether the person who died should be buried or cremated. If they can’t agree, then they may need to apply to the court to make a final decision.

To reach a decision the court will consider:

The final wishes of the person who passed away
The wishes of the family (as long as they’re reasonable)
The place the person who passed away is most closely connected with (for example, did they regularly attend a place of worship or have family connections in a specific cemetery?)

The court will ultimately make sure that the person who died is treated respectfully and that their funeral arrangements are made as soon as possible. This could mean that one of the executors is disappointed with the outcome. So it’s always worth talking this through and trying to reach a compromise outside of court if possible.

Important: if a dispute arises about who has the right to make funeral arrangements among your family members it’s a good idea to seek legal advice.

Funeral Choice is a free online resource that helps you find a local funeral director.