We have often discussed how important it is to have your estate plan in order as early as possible. In your estate plan, you should make sure you cover any specific instructions for your final arrangements. This includes any special wishes you have for your funeral. A recent story about a 32-year-old highlights how important it is to make your wishes known in writing.
The person died of an aneurysm at work. While that alone would make this story tragic, there is another element to consider here. The person who died was born a man but later made the choice to live as a woman. The decedent had officially changed her name to that of a woman and lived as a woman full time, including at work.
When she died, her father opted to have an open casket. Instead of accepting the transgender lifestyle the woman adopted, her father opted to have her buried as a man. Her friends were disgusted that her father erased her knew identity by burying her as a man, writing her obituary describing her as a man and not acknowledging that she was transgender.
Her father used an older photo in the paid obituary. That photo was of her when she was still living as her birth gender, a man. The funeral directors knew of her living as a female but followed her father’s wishes for the burial. They said they were powerless to go against her father’s wishes.
While thinking about your final arrangements isn’t pleasant, taking the time to make those plans now can help to ensure that you get some say in what happens. Knowing how to convey your wishes in accordance with Texas law can help you to let others know what you want.
Source: LogoTV, “Ignorant Father Forces Funeral Home To Bury Transgender Daughter As A Man” Matthew Tharrett, Nov. 22, 2014