Death, and Final Disposition of the Once Primary Asset

There are plenty of articles on LinkedIn and elsewhere regarding final disposition of proprietary assets following death. There are save fewer articles addressing the issue of final disposition of our presumptive once primary asset: our dead body.

Now, in discussing the dead body that was once ourself, there is a lot of custom and culture that applies, and, in this regard, we tend to think in a box.

There are concepts such as desecration of the dead body and similar concepts, but these types of concepts tend to be either based upon empathetic sensitivity and respect for the living, or based upon some presupposition of religious concepts applicable the decedent.

But, here’s what we know, as a matter of fact: Mother Nature makes no preference for human beings. Whether Mother Nature is self-created or created by a theist’s god, it is immaterial: Mother Nature treats the carcass of a former human being no differently than the carcass of a cow, or a deer, or a lion, or a bear. We are nothing special.

Mother Nature treats formerly living things the same way at death; to wit: decay to final reconciliation and balance called back into herself, as nature, using applied rules of her science.

How each of us chooses for our body to be finally disposed is personal. Some people make comments in their Last Will and Testament, and some people have written statements of wishes for their family’s reference in due course. The problem is that, in the fog of death for the family, the decedent’s wishes tend not to be reviewed until it is too late. Therefore, for persons who are predisposed to have an opinion on such things, it is important to let family and friends know those opinions.

In considering the methodology of how to dispose of our bodies after death, we need to consider the two major players of existence: space and time.

As to taking up space after death, different people have different opinions, and some people never really think about it. Some people prepare tombstones, reserve plots of land, build pyramids, and dedicate Taj Mahals.

Some of these things are more humble and some of these things are more grandiose. Some of these things are built by the enslaved lives of others, and some of these things are purchased for a fee. Some of these things can be more socially meaningful for the living than others.

But they all share one attribute: for longer or shorter periods of time, as the case may be, they all take up space after death.

I admit that I seem to have offended more than a few people, including some of my family, by stating my common quip: “I took up enough space during my life, I don’t want to take up any space after my death.”

Perhaps it is the exact antithesis of the principles held by the pharos, for better or worse. If I consider the question within a hypothetical closed environment, I would not wish to burden the earth for eternity with my tombstone or plot, and I would certainly not oblige my neighbor—who is busy with living life—to the eternal care of my bones. I would rather that I not enslave or burden anything or anyone in the world after my death, but freely grant that 6-foot plot to a farmer’s garden to feed the living.

As to time, it is also true that different people have different opinions.

After death, some people prefer a quick decomposition of the body, and others a longer period of time. An unembalmed body takes about 8–12 weeks to decompose back to nature, while an embalmed body can take years, understanding that the casket itself is a different issue regarding space and time. Some methods are quite fast, such as cremation; that is, the immediate burning of the body to ashes. Not only that, but depending upon the personal desires for retention of the ashes or urn, it has a space implication; that is, scattering ashes and not reserving the urn or placing it into a mausoleum would have little burden on space or time.

In this regard of cremation, I also admit that I seem to have very much offended more than a few people, including some of my family, by stating my common quip regarding cremation: “Why waste the food?I am accused in this regard of being rationally offensive. It’s not as if I’m suggesting a Zorastrianistic method of placing my body on a roof for vultures. It simply seems righteous to return to nature what has been taken from her. And, it seems wise voluntarily to give what would otherwise be taken.

If I should consider the question within a hypothetical closed environment, then I must acknowledge that I have eaten fish all my life. Their turn. This cycle of life provides sustenance for the living fish, which, in turn, feeds other living things. Since our bodies tend to be more water than anything else, burial at sea, unembalmed and in a biodegradable wrapping, appears to me to satisfy a natural reconciliation and return to Mother Nature. It satisfies both speed and efficiency, time and space, without waste of the sustaining resource of food. This thought-process is not unique, as the EPA has a program for it. Perhaps it is unusual by certain cultural sensitivities, but that is a different issue.

There are less extreme ways to manage this process, with companies now offering more natural burial packages and tree-pod based burials. Moreover, the concept can be applied in conjunction with organ and other donation programs.

After practicing law for more than 30 years, I can attest from experience with post-death management for clients that it is not only important to consider disposition of assets, but also to consider disposition of our bodies.

Our dead bodies will burden the living, or our dead bodies will benefit the living. What is customary is not necessarily a current thoughtful best social practice. [1] Indeed, some monuments are worthy of the eternal space; others, not so much. It certainly depends.

We recognize that it is sometimes hard to think out of the box, but this won’t hurt a bit.


[1] Brisk Critical-Thought Exercise in the Circumcision of Circumcision [#GRZ_152]

The expression set forth in this article are solely the author’s and are not endorsed, condoned or supported by any affiliation of the author.

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“Satis spatii tuli in vita mea, nolo post mortem spatium tollere.” (“I took up enough space during my life, I don’t want to take up any space after my death.”); “Sapere videtur sponte dare, quod alioqui vi capiatur.” (“It seems wise voluntarily to give, what will otherwise be taken by force.”) ~grz

© 2022 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn.

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