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Do people have a moral obligation to comply with someone's last wishes?

November 10, 2005

Response from David Brink on November 10, 2005
I would think that it depends on the details. If B promises A to fulfill her last wishes, then it seems B has a promissory obligation to A. Also, someone functioning as an executor to an estate has a (legal) obligation ot respect A's last wishes. There may be people related to A in ways that make them quasi-executors. They may have some obligations to fulfill A's last wishes. But absent a promise or some other clear role duty, it would seem to depend upon B's relation to A and the nature of A's wish. Does A's wish concern something that would have been fully within A's control during her lifetime? Does A's wish harm anyone? Would honoring A's wish involve neglecting others to whom A owed things?

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