Should you include funeral wishes in your will in Florida?

Yes, you should include your funeral wishes in your Florida will. But you should also communicate your burial wishes to loved ones in other ways. Wills often are not read until after the funeral, so they should not be solely relied on to communicate your funeral wishes.

There is no prohibition on including your funeral wishes in your last will and testament. In fact, I encourage my clients to do so. However, you should not rely only on your will to communicate your funeral wishes to your loved ones.

Wills often are not read until after the funeral. Thus, if you rely only on your will to communicate your wishes for for funeral and burial, then your loved ones might not even see your wishes until after the funeral is already completed. Thus, from a practical perspective it clearly not always effective to trust the will alone with your funeral wishes.

Additionally, your body is not part of the probate estate, even if you opt for cremation. Because of that, a will does not bind anyone with regard to the wishes concerning your body. Indeed, Florida courts have held before that burial instructions in a will should be ignored if there is clear and convincing evidence that the testator’s wishes changed after the will execution. This is very different from probate assets; the ownership and treatment of your probate estate is almost always bound by the terms of your will, regardless of whether anyone asserts you changed your mind.

The best way to communicate your wishes is in person with your loved ones. Sit down and have a conversation. And then explain that if they forget anything to take a look at your will. Then tell them where to find the will! Wills are useless unless they are found by the people you leave behind.

So, despite the potential pitfalls, you should probably include your funeral wishes in your last will and testament. Your will might just be the place your loved ones first look to see if you had any wishes. And if so, you want to communicate those wishes. But you should not rely only on your will. Also communicate your wishes in other ways. Make it clear what your wishes are and where they can be found. And if you do change your mind, be sure to update your will accordingly.