I really don’t want my family to have to dish out a bunch cash just to put my remains in a casket in some boring cemetary. I know where I am going when I die so I don’t care that much about what happens to my remains of this life.
So here is what I want to happen to me. I have always loved Lake Travis(big wakeboarder) because I have enjoyed so many good times there.
So I was wondering could she just tie me to a rock, toss me out of the boat and sink me over by the dam(its over 200ft deep so no scuba diver is going to freak and see me?
That way she could spend the money that she saved on burying me on my kids college or something else worthwhile.
Is this illegal to do inotherwords could she get in trouble? I don’t see why afterall it is my remains. Why can’t I put it in my will for her to do this?
btw The reason I am asking this is because I am working on the final draft of my will.
I am not a lawyer so I can’t tell you the specific law you would be breaking, but I am sure that she can’t do that.
You can’t just dump a body where ever you want. Especially when it isn’t even your lake. You certainly can’t contaminate a public water supply. It is your remains, but it isn’t your lake. She can’t bury your body in a public park or your neighbor’s back yard either.
I know that your body probably wouldn’t do any damage, but what if everyone wanted to be dumped in the lake when they died? It would get pretty messy pretty quick.
Besides, what would happen if you came detached from the rock and floated away? You could certainly give some kids out fishing a scare.
Maybe you should consider being cremated and having your ashes scattered over the lake?
Zumba the Cat beat me to it.
I also remember hearing that you need permission to have ashes scattered on certain bodies of water. Of course, she can just row out and dump the ashes, but if she got caught, she might get in trouble. “Cremains”, as they are called, are not really ashy, like charcoal ash. They are kind of gravely and gritty, like kitty litter. They won’t just disinegrate in the water.
I do agree with you though, on the stupid idea of spending thousands of dollars on a fancy box that is just going to get buried. I plan on being cremated and having my ashes scattered in the ocean.
No, I am not doing my own will. I am reviewing my lawyer’s draft. But there is a part about my funeral in it.
Ok. I could see not dumping my body in Lake Travis cause you and Zumba are probably right everybody would want their body to be dumped there.
How about the ocean? Say I die of a heart attack. Can she pick up my body from the hospital go charter a yacht(might well do some fishing when she is out there) and dump my body in international waters?
Naw I don’t live by Lake Travis(though I wish I did)I pull my boat 200 miles or so to stay there with my family as many weekends a summer as that I can afford.
No, I don’t own the hobby shop in Irving but I did use to live in Hurst, TX.
Btw Do you live by Lake Travis? If you do, you are one lucky dog!
IANAL, but I think the disposing of bodies is pretty heavily regulated. Burial at sea might be allowed if you are far enough away from land that your body won’t wash ashore. More likely, you’d have to be cremated and it would be your ashes that got buried at sea.
WB, yes I live near Lake Travis. I’m in Austin, TX, in the northeast section of town. Unfortunately, 'cause of the drought, the lake level is very low, but with the rain we’ve gotten over the past few weeks, I think the drought is over, but water levels are slow to return.
Yeah, Travis is great. I love Hippy Hollow, the clothing optional section of the lake. Unfortunately, there’s no decent beach there, but plenty of rocks for sunbathing.
I asked about the hobby shop 'cause I was in Irving this past weekend for my cousin’s wedding. We drove by the shop and I thought of you and began to wonder. I thought it would have been too funny if you were in my cousin’s congregation and was at the wedding and we didn’t know it.
Wildest Bill - I thought you’d left us! Maybe I’ve just been looking in the other forums. Glad to see you’re back and coming up with silly and fun questions per usual.
Strangely enough, I share your lack of enthusiasm for spending lots of money on a box that’s going to get buried in the ground. I always thought it would be far more sensible to be buried in one of those unfinished pine boxes like on “Little House On the Prairie,” and far more picturesque.
I think for sanitation’s sake, nobody should be dumping bodies in the lakes. Maybe just your one body wouldn’t be a problem, but once you get four or five of them and the kiddies start catching arms instead of fish, you’ve got problem’s a’brewin’., just like Zumba said.
Does anyone know if you can just bury bodies in your backyard? Or does that require some sort of licensing?
[aside to WB] You were looking for Christian TV shows awhile back, and having seen “Seventh Heaven” last night while waiting for Roswell to come on, I can assure you that it’s definitely the family-oriented Christian TV show you’re looking for. It was a little goody-goody for me, but that’s no surprise. It’s on Mondays on (I think) the WB (Warner Bros. not Wildest Bill) network.[/aside]
Wildest Bill, I am surprised your lawyer has not told you this: You can write pretty much anything you like in your will but it may be meaningless.
A will is where you dispose of your assets and it is not the best place to express your wishes about your funeral. Whatever you write is not binding in any way and just complicates the will.
The thing to do is talk to your wife or family and maybe write a “living will”. But saying in your will “I want my body given to a university for research” or “I want my body dumped in the Atlantic at 30N 40W” is meaningless as it does not in any way force them to do what you asked.
Taking into account that they will probably find your will two weeks after they have cremated you, you can see the will is not the place to state those things.
Use your will to dispose of your property and have a separate document for things which require immediate action in case you are incapacitated.
I recommend this book on the subject. It will give you a good understanding of the subject and you will be better able to interact with your lawyer.
To supplement what sailor said: a will is not the place to talk about your funeral, because normally a will is not even looked at until the body’s in the ground. Make arrangements with your family/friends/funeral home/whoever.
Actually, my mom used to talk about wanting us to bury her on our property and plant a tree on top of her. She actually looked into it and found that, while it was possible, it wasn’t easy. She would have had to officially designate a part of the property as a cemetary-there were regulations as to the necessary size, fencing, etc. Apparently, it involved a great deal of red tape and lawyer’s fees and she gave up on the idea. The laws probably vary from state to state, but no one wants bodies being buried just anywhere.
The rules about disposal of “cremains” are, I believe, much more relaxed, so long as you are putting them on your own property. Cremation is much less expensive than burial, and then your family can put you under a rose bush.
Unfortunately, I have personal experience in this area. We lost a child to sids twelve years ago. Ian was born at home as were all of his brothers. The coroner/undertaker was a complete ass and pretty much tried to take control. We wanted to bury our child on our own, near the home in which he is born. The undertaker was understandably upset with the idea and would not help out with any information. A couple hours in the library exposed all applicable laws here in Idaho. There are no regulations about burial and you can indeed bury on your own property.
I had a woodwoorker friend build a nice wooden casket and I dug the grave which suprisingly was pretty healing.
Conventional funerals are very expensive and really seem to take our responsibility away from us. It’s only come about in recent times here in the states that we have been distanced from death.
There are lots of oganizations out there on the web who can answer your legal questions for your state and give you alternative ideas for your final rest.
I know that it isn’t for everyone, but I highly recommend keeping burial simple and controlling every aspect of it that you are comfortable with. We wouldn’t do it any other way, it was a great experience and we all have fond memories of our son.
I know I am not to covet what others have so I won’t(even though it is hard in this case . You are one blessed individual for living where you are. I too feel the sadness smiley like you do for what those blasted rice farmers did(taking a foot of the lake level a week to water rice I don’t like rice ) to the prettiest and the most fun lake in Texas. Man, when I was there only the Lakeway boat launch was open.
Anyway, it is funny that I have such a long lasting impression on ya.
Davis,
Yea, I am still around coming up with extremely interesting(not silly ) and fun threads. Although, from now on I am going to think very hard before I start another thread in the pit.
Thanks for the info on the “Seventh Heaven” show. I’ll give it a shot. Interesting tidbit I was watching “JAG” last night and at a funeral for a little girl three of the main characters quoted passages from the Bible that Jesus said at her funeral.
Redwing,
Thanks for the cite.
Sailor and Max, thanks for the additional info about the wills. Truthfully, I just was thinking about this the other day and hadn’t got a chance to visit with my attorney about it. My I should leave my burial instruction with a $50 bill around them in my wallet so they will be sure to be found.
Hehhheee…I LOVE being an Undertaker’s DaughteR!
(BTW, where should we put the Ask the…threads?)
Would you like me to talk to my dad about regulations and the like?
Anyhoo, as far as burying a body on property…ew. Think about it: say someone else moves in. Would you want to live on land that had a body buried in it? Or what if you wanted to plant a garden?
Seriously, with all the death threads and the like, I really should start, Ask the Undertaker’s Daughter!
A few weeks ago, Dear Abby had in her column the name and website of an outfit that specilizes in kits to outline and make legal all the various things people should do “before something happens”. My SO read the paper and threw it away, not knowing that I wanted to save that article.
Does anybody know what I’m talking about??
I have a fairly serious health condition and really should be doing something about making “arrangements”. And I loathe lawyers. I don’t want my family having to waste part of my meager life insurance money on a funeral. Abby said the kit had a durable power of attorney and a living will in it as well as other stuff, all in a nice, convient pouch that you could give to your next of kin so they would KNOW.
. You are one blessed individual for living where you are. I too feel the sadness smiley like you do for what those blasted rice farmers did(taking a foot of the lake level a week to water rice I don’t like rice