Conflict over Casey Kasem’s body shows importance of funeral preplanning.

Despite having put in place the legal documents most recommended by legal experts: an advance directive and a surrogate healthcare decision-maker, the still unsettled fate of Casey Kasem’s body illustrates the importance of making your final funeral and burial wishes clearly known.

Learn more about funeral planning on Funeralwise.com

What Kasem had not done was communicate his wishes for the final disposition of his remains. Since there were no formal instructions it was left to the family to make the necessary decisions. Harsh feelings between the children of Kasem’s first wife and his second wife, Jean, have lead to prolonged drama regarding where his body will be buried. While his daughter from his first marriage claims to have been told by her father what he wanted, this is disputed by Jean.

We’ve seen this scenario play out with many celebrities — James Brown, Gary Coleman, Sherman Hemsley, and even Nelson Mandela, to name a few — and with non-celebrities alike. You can do a great act of love for your spouse, children, and other loved ones by making your funeral and burial plans ahead of time, based on your wishes. Even when there is no fighting, doing the proper funeral planning before you die can save your family a great deal of stress and worry.

Read the full story: Why is Casey Kasem Still Not Buried

The latest episode in the drama surrounding the burial of Kasem took place on September 29th when his daughter, Kerri Kasem, announced on her twitter that the Norway funeral home where his wife, Jean, hoped to have him buried was refusing to accept his body.

The long, complicated saga of Casey Kasem’s final resting place has taken another turn today as his daughter, Kerri Kasem, announced on Twitter that the funeral home in Oslo, Norway has refused to bury the late radio star.

Kerri began a petition in August that sought to collect signatures in an attempt to get Casey Kasem’s widow Jean Kasem to “respect Casey’s wishes,” referring to his alleged request to be buried at Forest Lawn cemetery in Los Angeles.

Read the full story: Norway Funeral Home Refused to Bury Casey Kasem

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