Death and the body as property

Unlike houses or other buildings that can handed down in a will, our bodies do not have the status of property and cannot be passed on by way of gift. It is essential therefore that a testator appoints an executor who they trust to carry out the wishes of the deceased even in the face of family objection. District nurses are well placed to ensure that patients and their relatives are properly informed on how to ensure that arrangements for the disposal of the patient's body after death comply with the wishes of the patient. In this article, Richard Griffith considers the legal definition of death and the law relating to the disposal of a body after death.