Legal Aspects of Enforcing and Reimbursing the Costs of Dignified Funerals, Rituals and Observance of Customs Related to Death

Abstract

The paper analyzes the legal norms and theoretical sources that define the concept of «a decent burial». The author draws attention to the fact that a decent burial is a multifaceted evaluation category. The criteria for assessing the «decency» of a burial depend not so much on the costs, social status and financial situation that the deceased had during his lifetime, but on various social, religious, ethical, psychological and other factors that have no monetary expression. During his lifetime, an individual can express his will regarding how his burial should be held, and (or) allocate a certain amount of money for the ritual that should be excluded from the hereditary estate. According to the author, in order to ensure the enforcement of the will expressed by an individual during his lifetime and to ensure the safety of the funds allocated by him for his burial, it is necessary to use the options provided for by a notary, in particular, notarization of an individual’s order to hold his burial (as an independent document) and a notary’s deposit.