Who Has the Right to Decide? California's Order for Final Arrangements

How California Health and Safety Code section 7100 ranks who controls final disposition, how the majority rule works, and why written wishes come first.

When someone dies, a family may not agree about what should happen to their remains. California law answers the question of who decides. Knowing the order can ease a hard conversation before it becomes a conflict.

The Person's Own Written Wishes

Under Health & Safety Code § 7100.1, a person may direct in writing how their remains are to be handled. Those directions are to be faithfully carried out, as long as they are clear enough to avoid material ambiguity and arrangements have been made to pay for them so survivors are not obligated. Directions in a will are to be carried out right away, even before the will is admitted to probate. Wishes written down ahead of time carry real weight.

The Order Under Section 7100

When it comes to who holds the right to control disposition, § 7100(a) sets this order:

1. An agent under a power of attorney for health care who was given the right and duty of disposition
2. The competent surviving spouse (a registered domestic partner has the same rights as a spouse under Family Code § 297.5)
3. The sole surviving competent adult child, or a majority of the surviving competent adult children
4. The surviving competent parent or parents
5. The sole surviving competent adult sibling, or a majority of the surviving competent adult siblings
6. The surviving competent adult relatives in the next degree of kinship, or a majority of them
7. A conservator of the person, then a conservator of the estate, when there are sufficient assets
8. The public administrator, when there are sufficient assets

How the Majority Rule Works

Where children, siblings, or other relatives share the right, a majority decides. The statute also lets fewer than a majority act if they have made reasonable efforts to notify the others and are not aware of opposition from more than half of them. In practice, this means telling everyone in the group what is planned, in writing, before it happens.

Other Points in the Statute

• "Adult" means 18 or older; "child" includes adopted children.
• A person charged with murder or voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death loses the right while the charge stands.
• Funeral directors and cemetery authorities are protected when they follow the instructions of the person entitled to decide.

For putting your own wishes in writing, see planning your own burial at sea.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with the cited source or an attorney.

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