HB 7272 Summary

• Allows persons 18 years or older to execute a written document (attested by two witnesses) directing the disposition of their body upon death, including cremation, burial, alkaline hydrolysis, and cryogenic preservation.

• Permits conservators and agents to execute disposition documents on behalf of conserved persons or principals, with provisions that such documents terminate upon the end of conservatorship if it occurs before death.

• Establishes a priority order for custody and control of body disposition in absence of a written designation: spouse, adult children, parents, siblings, and other relatives of third degree kinship or higher.

• Restricts retrieval of deceased person's sperm or eggs to cases explicitly provided for in executed documents or applicable law, with Probate Court jurisdiction over disputes.

• Protects funeral directors and embalmers from liability when acting in good faith on disposition instructions, and allows them to refuse services during disputes until receiving a court order or written agreement.