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| A new non-profit organization, Wanda’s Will, is holding workshops to help gays plan their funerals. Wanda’s Will is named after lesbian activist Wanda Alston, who died last year without a will to specify her wishes for her funeral. |
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HOME > ENTERTAINMENT > FEATURE
By: KATHERINE VOLIN COMMENTS
 
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estate will be divided and what will happen to surviving children, are insufficient for funeral planning, some experts say.
"Drafting a will is not enough," Zavos says. "One problem is that the will is never read until after a body is buried. The other question with that is whether it’s legally enforceable because a will doesn’t go into effect until after someone’s death."
Fortunately for local residents, one legal option exists to ensure that a deceased person’s wishes are observed at the funeral.
"There’s a document that is by statute in all three jurisdictions-—-Maryland, D.C. and Virginia-—-that can be prepared and executed," Zavos says. "A body disposition document gives whoever you choose to make decisions at your funeral. It’s legally enforceable and that’s the document that everybody should have."
The agent given power by the body disposition document has authority to make funeral arrangements, decide whether to bury or cremate the body and determine where the remains are spread or interred.
Jamie Thibadeau, gay owner of Thibadeau Mortuary Service in Silver Spring, Md., says that people concerned about their post-mortem wishes can also sign legal contracts with funeral homes or mortuaries.
"Any funeral contract written by the person expected to die is binding," Thibadeau says. "It’s a written document that the funeral home is bound to adhere to, whether it’s paid for or not, whether it’s burial or cremation."
The contracts outline the services the funeral home can and must provide for the body’s preparation for interment and can be filled out at any time. Thibadeau also recommends giving someone health care power of attorney.
"[Then] we can sidestep the whole next of kin issue when hospitals are involved," Thibadeau says.
AS PART OF prearrangements for death, local ministers suggest finding an appropriate officiant for a memorial service.
"It really makes a difference where you have a memorial service because there are churches and traditions that won’t do gay funerals," says Rev. Robert Hardies, senior minister at All Souls Church, Unitarian in Columbia Heights, who presided at Alston’s funeral. "It can result in a lot of pain for the loved ones of the deceased. People have to be real comfortable with the minister they choose to do the service."
Hardies says that add
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