Last week’s post mentioned Keith Richards and it reminded me of one death-related story that Keith Richards is famous (or perhaps more accurately infamous) for. In particular, the way that Keith Richards (allegedly) disposed of his father’s ashes, as profiled in more detail below.
Certainly, one aspect of estate planning that often receives less attention than many other areas is body disposal.
Ideally, a will maker’s wishes in relation to body disposal should be communicated to immediate family members or the executor of the estate.
A memorandum of directions, letter of wishes or similar style document is often the best mechanism in this regard.
A Word version of a template memorandum of directions is available at the View Legal website – www.viewlegal.com.au (via the ‘learn’, then ‘resources’, then ‘adviser toolkit’ tabs) or download our app –
- Apple – https://appsto.re/au/7ayT6.i
- Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=view.legal.mod
- burial;
- cremation;
- burial at sea.
- Diamonds – see - http://www.lifegem.com/?gclid=CI-UxtmO4NACFYkrvQodF_UJAw
- Mummification – see - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mummy
- Cryogenically frozen – see - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryopreservation and the announcement of an Australian firm offering the solution – see – http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/human-body/southern-cryonics-plans-to-break-ground-on-worldleading-nsw-facility-in-2017/news-story/145d76fec25f4827b229fb09e29579e3
- Coral reefs – see - http://www.eternalreefs.com/
- Composting - http://www.urbandeathproject.org/
- Deluxe cardboard box - http://www.funeraldirectorsaustralia.com.au/cardboard-coffins-australia/
- Vinyl records – see - http://www.andvinyly.com/
- Firecrackers – see - http://www.ashestoashes.com.au/
- Snorting (ie the Keith Richards play; note - the mixing of ashes with illicit substances is generally regarded as optional) – see - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1323930/Keith-Richards-I-really-DID-snort-fathers-ashes.html
- Smoking – as a variation on the snorting idea, friends of rap singer Tupac allegedly mixed his ashes with marijuana and smoked them – see - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/tupac-shakurs-ashes-smoked-2346879.html
- An hour glass – see - http://www.inthelighturns.com/hourglass-urns.html
- Glass orb – see - http://www.cremationsolutions.com/information/cremation-urn-information/cremation-glass-keepsake-information
- Snow Globes – see - http://www.bullworks.net/invest/globe.htm
- Space flight (as made famous by James Doohan, the actor who played Scotty in Star Trek, whose ashes were sent into space on a Elon Musk SpaceX rocket launch) – see - http://www.celestis.com/
- Shot out of a cannon – Hunter S. Thompson style, see – http://www.espn.com/espn/news/story?id=2139349, perhaps helping deliver on his famous comment that -