Who Decides About Your Body
20 Pa.C.S. 305 — the surviving spouse decides, unless clear and convincing evidence says otherwise
Pennsylvania gives the decision first to the surviving spouse, then to the next of kin, subject to the decedent's valid will.
The spouse has sole authority. Absent an allegation of enduring estrangement, incompetence, contrary intent, or waiver and agreement proven by clear and convincing evidence, a surviving spouse has sole authority in all matters of the disposition of the decedent's remains. With no surviving spouse, the next of kin have it on the same terms.
Going to court quickly. Where a petition alleging estrangement, incompetence, contrary intent, or waiver and agreement is made within 48 hours of the death or the discovery of the body, whichever is later, a court may order that no final disposition take place until it decides. Notice goes to each person of equal or higher precedence and to the funeral home holding the body, and a bond may be required.
Anatomical gifts, the medical examiner's authority, the funeral home's own forms, and who pays for disposition when no one with the right will act are outside this page. A dispute between family members of equal rank is a question for a licensed Pennsylvania attorney, and in some states for a court.
Sources for this section (1)
- 20 Pa.C.S. 305 — Right to dispose of a decedent's remains
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Pennsylvania attorney.