Should I put burial instructions in my Will?

Mar 6

I generally don’t recommend putting burial instructions in your will for three reasons:

1. To keep costs down. If you ever want to update your instructions, you don’t want to have to pay an attorney to redo your Will. Even if you needed to do a simple codicil to your Will (which no one really does anymore because it’s just as easy to reprint an updated Will), then you’d still need a notary and two witnesses to make it valid and self-proving in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

2. To address privacy concerns. When your Will is probated it becomes a public document, and you may not want the whole world to be able to see your personal wishes. If you thought the whole point of a Will was to avoid probate court - then you should check out our other blog post, “Why do I need a Trust, if I have a Will?

3. To make it more convenient and easy to update. When you complete your estate plan with Perennial Estate Planning, we provide a list of templates for you, and one of those templates covers your burial instructions. Using this template, you can easily update your wishes over time without having to update your Will and can include it in your estate planning binder to ensure your wishes are followed.

Most of my clients prefer this approach because it allows them to provide guidance in a more informal manner. Plus, the reality is that most people don’t read the Will until weeks after a person dies - so putting your burial instructions in your Will might not be the best way to convey those intentions.