West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 6 - Funeral Service Examiners › Title 6 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF FUNERAL SERVICE EXAMINERS › Series 6-01 - Funeral Director, Embalmer, Apprentice, Courtesy Card Holders And Funeral Establishment Requirements › Section 6-1-25 - Authorized representatives; right to control and duty of disposition

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
25.1. Advance
				directives, medical power of attorney and will of decedent.
A person may direct the preparation for, type, or place of
				  his or her own final disposition, either by oral or written instructions. The
				  authorized representative otherwise entitled to control the final disposition
				  pursuant to W.Va. Code §
										30-6-3 and this rule shall
				  faithfully carry out the reasonable and otherwise lawful directions of the
				  decedent to the extent that the decedent has provided resources for the purpose
				  of carrying out the directions. If the instructions are contained in a will,
				  they shall be immediately carried out, regardless of the validity of the will
				  in other respects or of the fact that the will may not be offered for or
				  admitted to probate until a later date, subject to other provisions of this
				  chapter or any other law of this state. If the instructions are contained in a
				  valid medical power of attorney document, they shall be immediately carried
				  out, pursuant to W.Va. Code §
										16-30-1, et. seq. This subsection
				  shall be administered and construed so that the reasonable and lawful
				  instructions of the decedent or the person entitled to control the final
				  disposition shall be faithfully and promptly performed
25.2. Determination of right to control and
				duty of disposition.
The right to control the disposition of the remains of a
				  deceased person, including the location and conditions of final disposition,
				  unless other directions have been given by the decedent pursuant to subsection
				  25.1. of this section, vests in, and the duty of final disposition of the body
				  devolves upon, the following authorized representative in the order
				  named:
25.2.1. the person appointed in
				a dated written instrument signed by the decedent. Written instrument includes,
				but is not limited to, a health care directive or medical power of attorney
				executed pursuant to W.Va. Code §
										16-30-1, et. seq. of the West
				Virginia Health Care Decisions Act. Written instrument does not include a
				durable or nondurable power of attorney which terminates on the death of the
				principal pursuant to W.Va. Code §
										39-4-1, et. seq. of the Uniform
				Durable Power of Attorney Act;
25.2.2. the surviving, legally recognized
				spouse;
25.2.3. the surviving
				biological or adopted child or children of the decedent over the age of
				majority, provided that, in the absence of actual knowledge to the contrary, a
				funeral director may rely on instructions given by the child or children who
				represent that they are the sole surviving child, or that they constitute a
				majority of the surviving children;
25.2.4. the surviving parent or parents of
				the decedent or other permanent legal guardian of the decedent;
25.2.5. the surviving biological or adopted
				sibling or siblings of the decedent over the age of eighteen (18), provided
				that, in the absence of actual knowledge to the contrary, a funeral director
				may rely on instructions given by the sibling or siblings who represent that
				they are the sole surviving sibling, or that they constitute a majority of the
				surviving siblings;
25.2.6. the
				person or persons respectively in the next degree of kinship in the order named
				by law to inherit the estate of the decedent; and
25.2.7. the appropriate public or court
				authority, as required by law.
For purposes of this subsection, the appropriate public or
				  court authority includes the county Department of Health and Human Resources of
				  the county in which the death occurred if the person dies without apparent
				  financial means to provide for final disposition or the circuit court in the
				  county in which the death occurred.