Illinois Code § 5

§ 5.

Right to control disposition; priority. Unless a decedent has left directions in writing for the disposition or designated an agent to direct the disposition of the decedent's remains as provided in Section 65 of the Crematory Regulation Act or in subsection (a) of Section 40 of this Act, the following persons, in the priority listed, have the right to control the disposition, including cremation, of the decedent's remains and are liable for the reasonable costs of the disposition: (1) the person designated in a written instrument that satisfies the provisions of Sections 10 and 15 of this Act; (2) any person serving as executor or legal representative of the decedent's estate and acting according to the decedent's written instructions contained in the decedent's will; (3) the individual who was the spouse of the decedent at the time of the decedent's death; (4) the sole surviving competent adult child of the decedent, or if there is more than one surviving competent adult child of the decedent, the majority of the surviving competent adult children; however, less than one-half of the surviving adult children shall be vested with the rights and duties of this Section if they have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult children of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions on the part of more than one-half of all surviving competent adult children; (5) the surviving competent parents of the decedent; if one of the surviving competent parents is absent, the remaining competent parent shall be vested with the rights and duties of this Act after reasonable efforts have been unsuccessful in locating the absent surviving competent parent; (6) the surviving competent adult person or persons respectively in the next degrees of kindred or, if there is more than one surviving competent adult person of the same degree of kindred, the majority of those persons; less than the majority of surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kindred shall be vested with the rights and duties of this Act if those persons have used reasonable efforts to notify all other surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kindred of their instructions and are not aware of any opposition to those instructions on the part of one-half or more of all surviving competent adult persons of the same degree of kindred; (6.5) any recognized religious, civic, community, or fraternal organization willing to assume legal and financial responsibility; (7) in the case of indigents or any other individuals whose final disposition is the responsibility of the State or any of its instrumentalities, a public administrator, medical examiner, coroner, State appointed guardian, or any other public official charged with arranging the final disposition of the decedent; (8) in the case of individuals who have donated their bodies to science, or whose death occurred in a nursing home or other private institution and the institution is charged with making arrangements for the final disposition of the decedent, a representative of the institution; or (9) any other person or organization that is willing to assume legal and financial responsibility. As used in Section, "adult" means any individual who has reached his or her eighteenth birthday. Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary, in the case of decedents who die while serving as members of the United States Armed Forces, the Illinois National Guard, or the United States Reserve Forces, as defined in Section 1481 of Title 10 of the United States Code, and who have executed the required U.S. Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data Form (DD Form 93), or successor form, the person designated in such form to direct disposition of the decedent's remains shall have the right to control the disposition, including cremation, of the decedent's remains. (Source: P.A. 100-526, eff. 6-1-18.)