First, the wishes of a person who passes away as to burial instructions are simply wishes and have no legal binding effect upon anyone under the laws of all states in this country. Ordinarily, family members honor the decdent's burial or cremation instuctions the best they can.Sometimes family members simply come up with the necessary money out of their own pockets in order to do the right thing for the decedent with no expectations of repayment. In short, the request for cremation in a living Will does not have to be followed by family members after the decedent passes if cremation will be a financial burden for the heirs. Ordinarily, the heirs advance the costs for the funderal and get reimbursement for the decedent's estate for the costs later on.