Senate Enrolled Act 146 - Summary

• Establishes a 72-hour deadline for persons with authority to arrange final disposition of a decedent; failure to exercise this right within 72 hours of receiving notification forfeits their authority and passes to the next person in the priority order.

• Expands the priority list for authorizing cremation, interment, and funeral arrangements to include siblings (new priority level) and allows any willing person to act if no relatives are available, including funeral homes with valid prepaid plans.

• Modifies spouse authority rules to exclude spouses when a divorce/separation petition is pending (unless reconciliation is proven) or when a court determines the couple was physically and emotionally separated at the time of death.

• Adds provisions allowing spouses to petition for judicial determination of reconciliation in existing dissolution or separation proceedings without paying a filing fee, and specifies all disputes over disposition must be filed in probate court where the decedent resided.

• Grants crematory authorities, cemeteries, and funeral homes good faith protection from civil and criminal liability when relying on signed authorizations for disposition, and prohibits them from liability when refusing remains during disputes until receiving court orders or signed agreements.