Who Decides About Your Body
ORC 2108.70 — a written declaration, and the list that answers when there is none
A will is read after the funeral. That single fact is why instructions about a body do not belong only in a will, and why Ohio gives the question its own instrument with its own list behind it.
An adult of sound mind may assign the decision in writing. An adult who is of sound mind may execute at any time a written declaration assigning to a representative one or more rights, including the right to direct the disposition, after death, of the declarant's body. The representative is an adult, or a group of adults collectively, to whom the declarant has assigned the right of disposition.
The declaration may name successor representatives. A successor representative is an adult or group of adults to whom the right has been reassigned because the declarant's representative is disqualified from exercising it, and each successor is considered in the order the declarant designated.
Where there is no declaration, a statutory order answers instead. The right of disposition passes to the persons the companion section lists, in the order of priority it states, among those who are mentally competent adults and can be located with reasonable effort. The order begins with a representative the deceased person appointed, then the surviving spouse, then the surviving child or, where there is more than one, all of the surviving children collectively, then the surviving parent or parents, then the surviving sibling or siblings whether of the whole or of the half blood, then the surviving grandparent or grandparents, then the surviving grandchild or grandchildren, then the lineal descendants of the deceased person's grandparents.
After those classes the list reaches the person who was the deceased person's guardian at the time of death, where a guardian had been appointed, and then any other person willing to assume the right, including the personal representative of the estate or the licensed funeral director with custody of the body, after attesting in writing that a good faith effort has been made to locate the persons the list names.
| If there is | Who decides |
|---|---|
| If there isA written declaration naming a representative | Who decidesThat representative, then any successors in the order named |
| If there isNo declaration | Who decidesThe statutory order, starting with the surviving spouse |
| If there isNobody in the order who can be located | Who decidesAny person willing to assume the right, after a written attestation |
A person high on the list can fall off it. The chapter has its own section on when a representative is disqualified from exercising the right of disposition. Being first in the order is not the same as holding the right come what may, and the reassignment to a successor is the mechanism the chapter uses rather than leaving a stalemate.
A partner who is not a spouse does not appear anywhere in that statutory order by virtue of the relationship. Where a couple are not married, a written declaration is the instrument that puts the decision where they intend it, and there is no number of years that substitutes for one.
Anatomical gifts, the funding of a funeral, prepaid funeral contracts, and disputes brought in probate court are each their own body of law and are not set out here. Whether a particular declaration was validly executed, and who holds the right in a particular family, are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney. Funeral directors in Ohio work with this chapter daily and hold the forms it contemplates.
Sources for this section (4)
- ORC 2108.70 — Assigning the right of disposition of one's own remains
- ORC 2108.81 — The right of disposition where no declaration was made
- ORC 2108.72 — When a representative is disqualified from the right of disposition
- ORC 3105.12 — Proof of marriage, and the abolition of common law marriage
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.