Reviewed by Carlos Vargas, Texas Licensed Funeral Director (TFSC #119648) ·
A note for your family, not a legal appointment
Many people who have built a life in Texas still hope to be laid to rest in the place they came from. Families often learn of that wish too late, or disagree about what was said. This builder turns your answers into a short plain-text note you can print, sign and hand to the people who would have to act on it.
The note is informal. It does not appoint anyone, buy anything, reserve a service or bind a funeral home, and completing it sends nothing to us. It is also not a promise that a particular country, consulate or airline will allow what you describe. Its purpose is that your family knows what you wanted and where your papers are.
Write down your wishes
Answer what you can. Describe people by relationship and city; do not type your own name, identity numbers or policy numbers.
The controls require JavaScript. You can copy the headings on this page and write the note by hand.
What makes a choice binding in Texas
Texas has an official document for this. The Texas Funeral Service Commission publishes the Appointment for Disposition of Remains form, which names an agent to control the disposition of your remains in accordance with Section 711.002 of the Health and Safety Code. The form states that all decisions made by the agent, including cremation, shall be binding, and it has a space for special directions limiting the agent’s power. That is where a wish to be returned to another country can be written so that it carries legal weight.
The form is signed by you and acknowledged before a notary. It says the appointment is valid without the agent’s signature, but each agent must sign to accept before acting, and by accepting the agent understands that he or she will be individually liable for the reasonable cost of the interment and may seek reimbursement from the estate. Because of that liability, talk with the person first. A Texas attorney can advise you on the form; this page cannot.
Put it in writing and say where it is
The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on planning your own funeral advises putting your preferences in writing, giving copies to family members and your attorney, and keeping a copy in a handy place. It warns against stating your preferences only in a will, because a will often is not found or read until after the funeral, and against leaving the only copy in a safe deposit box.
The FTC also notes that you may make decisions about your arrangements in advance without paying for them in advance, and that if your family is not aware of your plans, your wishes may not be carried out. This tool follows that advice: it produces the written note and a small card saying where the note is kept. It does not sell or arrange any prepaid plan.
Wishes that cross a border
A wish to rest abroad depends on people and rules in two countries. Someone there must be willing to receive you, and the destination’s consulate decides which documents it requires at the time. Costs cannot be known years ahead. For those reasons the note records preferences and contacts rather than instructions nobody may be able to follow. Our documents guide and costs and process guide explain what a family usually has to organize.
What the finished note contains
Select Build text when you have filled in what you can. Blank answers become a line to complete by hand.
| Part | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Heading and statement | Says plainly that the note is not a legal appointment or a purchase |
| Your answers | Place, preference, ceremony, whom to tell and where papers are kept |
| Name, signature and date lines | Left blank so you complete them by hand on paper |
| Wallet card | Four lines to cut out, saying that wishes exist and where they are kept |
Your name is never typed into the page. Write it on the printed copy, then sign and date it so your family can see that it is yours and when you wrote it.
Review it when life changes
Read the note again after a move, a marriage or divorce, a death in the family or a change of mind, and replace old copies. Any edit on this page clears the previous text, so build it again before copying or downloading. The builder script does not transmit your answers or write them to browser storage; other services on this site follow their own privacy terms. Describe people by relationship and city, and leave out identity numbers, policy numbers and account details.
Questions about a repatriation wishes note
- Is this note legally binding in Texas?
- No. It is an informal statement for your family. The Appointment for Disposition of Remains form, signed and acknowledged before a notary, is the Texas document that makes an agent’s decisions binding.
- Do I have to pay for anything to record my wishes?
- No. The FTC notes you can decide on arrangements in advance without paying in advance. This tool sells nothing and arranges nothing.
- Why does the note leave my name blank?
- So that your identity is never typed into a web page. You add your name, signature and date by hand on the printed copy.
