QUESTION
Who has the rights to claim the body of divorce had been filed but not granted
Asked on Jan 21st, 2021 on Divorce - Oklahoma
More details to this question:
My daughter father killed himself last night. He was in the middle of a divorce that had not been settled or granted have only had one court hearing if the wife still the first next of kin to legally claim his body and make all funeral arrangements? We are oklahoma residents my daughter is 21 the divorce was filed July of 2020 and the wife and deceased have a 9 year old son together
1 ANSWER
As you note, she (your daughter) is still his wife, if she wants to take that responsibility, the divorce court won't have any ongoing jurisdiction so if she anticipates being challenged by some blood family member of his, then she can file to open a probate proceeding and request an order giving her that authority.
I'm sorry for the loss this presents to your grandson. If she has a lawyer in the divorce action, he/she should be able to assist her in handling this, if his family wants to challenge her, they can and a court will sort things out.
Reaching out to his family may also be appropriate if for no other reason than to give them an opportunity to express their preferences for planning purposes. The funeral director may be able to assist in this regard.
Answered on Jan 25th, 2021 at 9:32 AM