Memorial and Burial Arrangements
Perhaps the most emotionally trying duty of an Estate Trustee is making burial and memorial arrangements.
This can be doubly so where family members have different views and priorities than the Estate Trustee. When the source of those views is religious differences, compromise becomes well-nigh impossible. Families can break apart, never to reconcile.
Into this fray, lawyers inevitably become part of a terribly combustible mix. Eventually, a dispute can reach the Courts. When it does, family members who believe they know, regardless of the Estate Trustee’s plans exactly what a deceased wanted may be shocked to find that their recollections and most sacredly-held beliefs give way to the Estate Trustee’s power to decide.
This, I believe, must be so. A Judge is in no better position to decide how to honour a deceased than warring family members, and perhaps a worse position since he or she would likely not have even known the person.
One more reason to be careful when choosing an Estate Trustee, and clear when telling him or her your wishes.
Thanks for reading.
Sean Graham
