Funeral Wishes
When making a Will, as part of the instruction you will be asked if you would like to express a desire of either “I wish my body to be cremated” or “I wish my body to be buried” and if you have given a wish, this appears in the ‘Funeral Directions’ section of your Will. Clients frequently want more detailed wishes to be recorded into the Will until the following facts are pointed out...
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Often a Will is not read until AFTER the funeral, so whatever your wishes were, if no one knew, they would not have been carried out.

Funeral preferences set out in a Will remain just a ‘wish’ (due to common law a person has no property in his body after death). This means your executor(s) do not have to carry out your funeral wishes. Even if you have life insurance/over 50 life cover in place (not in trust) to pay for your funeral, these monies are normally received well after the funeral, as a Grant of Probate may be required before any assets can be released from the deceased estate.

Although your executor(s) have a duty to carry out the funeral (one of the first jobs the executor(s) need to carry out), they are not obliged to spend any money you have saved for that purpose. Usually executor(s) & family want to do the right thing however, but it can be difficult when there is doubt on what you would have wanted and things were not sorted out in advance. 

In order to help your executor(s) and loved ones with your funeral wishes, it is recommended that you complete a separate Funeral Expression of Wishes form (shown at bottom of this page).

This means the funeral section in the Will can be kept simple, referring to your wish of either a cremation or burial and if applicable details of any existing Prepaid Funeral Plan. The separate Funeral Expression of Wishes form can then go into full detail of your wishes (to assist the Executors with the following): 
*Organ donation *cremation direct or traditional, ashes scattered or interred *burial plot location or preferred cemetery *religious, humanist or celebrant service *preferred minister or officiant, *music *hymns *songs *type of coffin *how you are dressed *type of hearse *how many limousines & preferred procession route *family to act as pall-bearers *flowers *donations to charity *what colour mourners wear and any wishes regarding a wake etc… 

Donation of body to medical science
Under the Human Tissue Act 2004, written and witnessed consent for anatomical examination must be given prior to death; consent cannot be given by anyone else after your death. A consent form can be obtained from your nearest medical school (London Anatomy Centre or University of Southampton) and a copy should be kept with your Will. You should also inform your family, close friends and GP that you wish to donate your body.