Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Tennessee

my nephew was buried in TN the request of his parents and his ex-wife states when their adopted son who is in a maximum security center and is 17 years of age she will have this son to sign for exhumation to Ohio. Can she do this?


Asked on 9/21/16, 9:30 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Your question does not deal with Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility, but the answer is:

Any person seeking to disinter remains and move them to another grave must obtain a court order.

"There is a distinction between rights existing prior to burial and those after burial, because after its interment the remains are in the custody of the law. Disinterment of a dead body is not a matter of right, a disturbance of its resting place and its removal are subject to the control and direction of a court of equity and, this generally requires the exercise of discretion by the Court."

and

"Except in cases of necessity and for laudable purposes, it is the policy of the law that the sanctity of the grave should be maintained and that a body, once suitably buried, should remain undisturbed. A court will not ordinarily order or permit a body to be disinterred unless there is a strong showing that it is necessary and that the interests of justice require it. However, there is no universal rule and each case must depend on its own facts and circumstances."

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Answered on 9/21/16, 10:00 am


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