Patel v Patel [2025] EWHC 560 (Ch) was a dispute about the funeral arrangements for Bhikhubhai Rambhai Patel, a widower who died in December 2024.

Background

The claimant, Mr Anilkumar Patel, and the first defendant, Ms Jayaben Patel, brother and sister, were appointed as their father’s executors but could not agree on the funeral arrangements; Mr Patel wanted his father to be cremated in England, while Ms Patel wanted him to be buried in India. Meanwhile, their father’s body lay in the mortuary of the second defendant, University Hospitals of Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust. Mr Patel asked the court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction to order that his father’s body should be released into his custody or that of his nominated representatives (such as funeral directors) and that it be cremated and the ashes scattered in accordance with Hindu funeral rites, with such further orders as the court considered appropriate or necessary, and provision for the costs of the claim [1-3].

The dispute

The dispute between the parties centred largely, though not exclusively, on their late father’s wishes in relation to the disposal of his body. Continue reading →