Be Considerate in Disposing of Ashes

Make sure you don’t set up your loved ones for an illegal act when making your final plans.

While the traditional method of disposing of one’s remains is burial in a cemetery more and more people are looking at cremation and disposal of the ashes but that can lead to problems as reported by FOX News in "Man scattering friend's ashes halts Metropolitan Opera performance."

A recent example of something that cannot be done happened during a performance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

During an intermission a man stood up and spread his friend's ashes in the orchestra pit. The musicians were not in the pit at the time. However, the ashes caused enough alarm that the performance was cancelled as was another performance scheduled for later in the day.

This is obviously an extreme example. Scattering human ashes inside a public building is never a good idea. Other cases are not as obvious.

For example, if the ashes had been scattered on the field at Yankee Stadium, it might not have caused as much alarm. However, that does not mean it is legal to spread ashes on baseball fields. It depends on state laws and the field owner's policies.

An estate planning attorney can guide you in creating an estate plan that meets your wishes but doesn’t lead your loved ones to an illegal act.

Reference: FOX News (Oct. 30, 2016) "Man scattering friend's ashes halts Metropolitan Opera performance."