Recording funeral wishes in your will

Written by · Reviewed by Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931) · Updated 2026-10-20 · Reviewed quarterly, when the underlying data is restated.

Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name.

Funeral wishes written in a will are not legally binding in New Zealand. The executor, or the person lawfully in control of the body, has the final say on burial or cremation, although families usually follow what the person wanted. A will may also not be found until after the funeral, so wishes need to be recorded and shared somewhere else as well.

A funeral wish in a will is an instruction, such as "cremate me" or "bury me beside my husband", that the law treats as a request rather than an order. Community Law, a free legal information service, says instructions of this kind "aren't legally binding on the family, but it would be unusual for a family not to follow them", and that the executor or person lawfully in control of the body "is entitled to make the final decision" (Community Law: Funerals and tangihanga). In practice that means your wishes carry real weight with a sensible executor, but nothing in the will compels anyone to follow them. This page sets out who decides, what the Supreme Court has said, where organ and tissue donation differs, and where else to put your wishes. It is general information, not legal advice.

Are funeral instructions in a will binding?

No. Community Law's executor guide says: "Regardless of what instructions you leave in your will, your executor has the final say about your burial or cremation" (Community Law: Choosing an executor). It adds that executors "will generally follow what was said in the will or the wishes of family or friends", and that if tikanga Māori is relevant to you or your whānau, your executor has to take it into account.

The wishes are still useful. They are the clearest evidence of what you wanted, and they settle most questions before anyone has to argue.

Who has legal control of the body?

The executor named in your will decides. If there is no will, or no executor who can act, the decision usually falls to the closest relative (Community Law: Tangihanga). The Supreme Court set out the rule in Takamore v Clarke [2012] NZSC 116, decided on 18 December 2012. Three of the five judges held that personal representatives, the legal term that includes executors, have both the right and the duty to arrange disposal of the body. The rule applies where the family does not agree, arrangements have broken down, or nothing is happening. In using that power, the personal representative should take account of the views of those close to the deceased, and "any views expressed by the testator on what should be done are an important consideration" (Supreme Court press summary).

The summary also records that the Chief Justice and William Young J would not have recognised a role for personal representatives and thought disputes can only be resolved by a court. The press summary is not part of the court's reasons, so treat it as a guide to the decision rather than the decision itself. The case involved a dispute over whether a man should be buried in Christchurch or at an urupā in the Bay of Plenty, which is why tikanga features in the reasoning.

Why a will is a poor place for funeral wishes

Wishes in an enduring power of attorney do not help

An enduring power of attorney lets someone act for you while you are alive. The donor's death ends it (Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, s 106(1)(b)). Do not put funeral wishes only there. The same applies to an advance care plan, which records health-care wishes while you are alive; see advance care plans.

Organ, tissue and body donation work differently

Funeral wishes are not enforceable, but consent to donation is. Under the Human Tissue Act 2008, "the death of a person does not affect the validity of any informed consent given, informed objection or overriding objection raised, or nomination made, by that person" (s 30). For most uses, the person's own consent before death comes first. If they gave none and raised no objection, their nominee can decide after death, then immediate family, then a close available relative (s 31). Consent can be recorded in the national organ and tissue donor register (s 46) (Human Tissue Act 2008, version as at 5 April 2023).

Donating a whole body for anatomical examination or public display has an extra step. Consent from the person (or their nominee) is not enough on its own: under s 32 it is invalid unless a member of the immediate family, or a close available relative, has also consented. If you want to donate your body, tell your family. See organ donation and funerals and donating your body to science.

When the family disagrees

Community Law says that if whānau disagree about where a body should be buried, the person with legal power to decide is the executor, or usually the closest relative if there is no will. The executor or administrator "must take into account the views of immediate and wider whānau and relevant cultural, religious and spiritual practices", but need not seek them out, so whānau who want their views counted should make them known. Its tangihanga page says whānau "can also challenge the executor/administrator's decisions in the High Court". Its executor guide says that a person who disagrees can apply to the Family Court, and that where common law, the will and tikanga Māori conflict the court decides case by case. The pages name different courts, so ask a Community Law centre or a lawyer which applies to your situation.

How to record your wishes so they are found

  1. Write a dated, signed letter or document setting out what you want: burial or cremation, service type, music, who leads, what happens to ashes, and which funeral director if any.
  2. Give a copy to your executor and to one or two family members, and tell them in person.
  3. Keep a copy where it will be found within a day, not only in the will or the safe-deposit box.
  4. Record organ or body donation wishes through the proper channel, and tell your family.
  5. Say how the funeral will be paid for. FDANZ found 74% of deaths in 2025 had no pre-arrangement or pre-payment (FDANZ 2026 Industry Trends Report).

Our guide to organising your own funeral has a checklist of headings to copy, and the funeral trust guide covers one way of setting money aside.

What executors need to know before arranging the service

Paying for the wishes you record

Recording a wish for a full service with a casket and catering has a cost. FDANZ's 2026 report puts a full funeral with cremation, 50 attendees and a celebrant at an average of $11,700 (range $10,000 to $13,900), burial at $14,300, and an unattended cremation at $4,700 (FDANZ). See funeral costs.

If you want to settle the money question as well as the wishes, funeral insurance is one option, alongside savings and a funeral trust. Momentum Life's Funeral Insurance (issued by Momentum Life Limited) takes New Zealanders aged 40 to 75, asks no health questions, and pays a fixed benefit of $3,000 to $30,000 towards costs. During the first 24 months it pays only if the death is accidental, meaning within 90 days of the accident; for any other cause, the premiums paid for that person are refunded. Total premiums can end up larger than the benefit, and the benefit may not cover the whole funeral. A.M. Best rates Momentum B (Fair), as set out on its financial strength page. The funeral insurance hub and the Momentum Life Funeral Cover page give the full limits, and the buttons on this page lead to Momentum's own quote.

Adviser's view

Write your funeral wishes down, but do not rely on the will to carry them out. The executor has the final say, the will may not be found until after the funeral, and a separate signed letter shared with your executor and family does more work. Organ and tissue donation is the exception: your own recorded consent has legal force.
, Financial Adviser (FSP1010699). General information, not personalised financial advice.

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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Funeral Wishes in a Will NZ: Are They Binding?. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/estate/funeral-wishes-in-will-nz. Updated 2026-10-20.

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